New Delhi| The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has decided to restrict the attendance of the employees after more than 400 employees of Parliament got infected with the COVID-19 infection. As per the new guidelines, 50 percent of the employees or officers below the rank of undersecretary or executive officer are required to ‘work from home.
It is learned that Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu reviewed the situation and was directed to take necessary measures to contain the spread of the virus among the officers and staff of the Secretariat. To avoid overcrowding, it has been decided to fix the timing of the Secretariat and all official meetings will be held virtually. Disabled officers and pregnant women are exempted from attending the office.
During the investigation, more than 400 Parliament employees were found infected with Corona. Of all those infected with Corona, 65 are from the Rajya Sabha, 200 from the Lok Sabha and 133 from the allied services.
According to sources, random testing was done on January 6-7 in view of the sudden increase in new cases in the national capital. Most of the staff, who did not show symptoms, said, “More random testing will be done for those coming to Parliament to control the infection.”
