New Delhi: The Pune district administration on Wednesday issued an order asking not more than five employees to be present at a time in their offices to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In case of a breach, the firm is liable to be taken to task, the order said. Several complaints from IT professionals prompted the administration to swing into action to check any possibility of a virus spread.
The diktat comes at a time when most organisations in the country have asked their employees to work from home in order to contain the chances of spreading coronavirus that has claimed three lives in India with more than 160 positive cases.
The collector’s order specifically followed complaints from IT professionals, who claimed that their respective managements forced them to work from their offices. These grievances were conveyed to the district administration. The collector then held a meeting on Wednesday, following which he primarily issued orders to all the private companies that they should not ask more than five employees to work at offices.
“We have already invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act, under which, I have issued orders to all the private companies, banning them from having more than five people at a time at the office. They have to abide by it,” Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram told Pune Mirror.
He added that if the company violates the order, it will warrant stern action under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.
“This is indispensable to stop the virus from spreading. I have already requested the private companies to allow the employees to work from home. The handful of employees required for meetings that have to be conducted on the premises could be called,” he said.
Pune has recorded a total of 18 COVID-19 cases while the tally in Maharashtra has gone up to 42, making it the worst-affected state in the country amid the pandemic.
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