No Reliance on Public Transport, Sanitised Premises & Social Distancing: Fresh Guidelines for Workspaces

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued fresh guidelines for Phase 2 of the coronavirus lockdown which will last till May 3, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought the support of Indians and emphasised on the balance between lives and livelihood while battling the pandemic.

Banks, post offices, print and electronic media, data and call centres for government activities and e-commerce companies have been allowed to operate from April 20, with certain riders.

The government has come out with a Standard Operating Procedure for Social Distancing for offices, workplaces, factories and establishments.

Under this, all areas in the premises such as entrance gates, cafes and canteens, lifts, washrooms and walls must be sanitised with disinfectant.

For workers coming from outside, special transportation facility will be arranged without any dependency on the public transport system. These vehicles should be allowed to work only with 30-40% passenger capacity. All vehicles and machinery entering the premise should be disinfected by spray mandatorily.

Mandatory thermal scanning of everyone entering and exiting the work place to be done. Medical insurance for the workers to be made mandatory.

Provision for hand wash and sanitizer, preferably with touch-free mechanism, will be made at all entry and exit points and common areas. Sufficient quantities of all the items should be available.

Work places shall have a gap of one hour between shifts and will stagger the lunch breaks of staff, to ensure social distancing.

Large gatherings or meetings of 10 or more people to be discouraged. Seating at least 6 feet away from others on job sites and in gatherings, meetings and training sessions.

Not more than 2/4 persons (depending on size) will be allowed to travel in lifts or hoists. Use of staircase for climbing should be encouraged.

There should be strict ban on gutka, tobacco etc. and spitting should be strictly prohibited.

There should be total ban on non-essential visitors at sites. Hospitals/clinics in the nearby areas, which are authorised to treat Covid-19 patients should be identified and list should be available at work place at all times.

India on Wednesday crossed the 11,000-mark for coronavirus cases while the death toll rose to 377.