Bhubaneswar: The pregnant women and ‘Divyang’ (physically challenged) employees of Central government have been exempted from attending office in view of rising COVID cases in the country.
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said this while speaking to the media on the Centre’s guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on the latest wave of the pandemic.
Singh said pregnant women and ‘Divyang’ employees are exempted from attending office. But, they have to remain available at home for official work. Similarly, the employees living in the containment zones have been exempted.
The physical attendance of the employees below the post of under secretary has been restricted to 50 per cent of the actual strength and the remaining 50 per cent will work from home, he added.
Stating that personal meetings with visitors have to be avoided, Singh said the official meetings will be conducted as far as possible through video conferencing. All the employees must follow staggered timings of 9 am to 5.30 pm and 10 am to 6.30 pm, he added.
He advised all the employees coming to offices to ensure strict compliance of COVID protocols like wearing face mask, maintaining social distancing and sanitising hands.
