Cases at Secretariat spark calls for scaling down staff strength

Cases at Secretariat spark calls for scaling down staff strength

At least 10 workers infected; assn. wants departments to function with 33% staff

02/06/2020,DENNIS S. JESUDASAN  CHENNAI

A file picture of the Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai building inside the Secretariat premises.

With at least 10 employees from various government departments on the Secretariat campus in Chennai having tested positive for COVID-19, the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association (Tansa) has requested the State government to revert to the earlier system of allowing departments to function with only 33% staff. The government had recently increased the permissible staff strength to 50%.

On Monday alone, four employees from three departments tested positive for COVID-19, multiple sources confirmed. While some employees sought the closure of the Secretariat for at least two days, others said it should be allowed to function with only 33% staff.

“When only two employees of the Southern Railway headquarters tested positive, the campus was sealed for two days and disinfected. But here, we have more cases. In what way is the virus in the Railways different from the one at the Secretariat?” a staff member asked. But another staff member contended that the Secretariat was the nerve centre of the entire State, and hence, it cannot be sealed. “It cannot be called a COVID-19 cluster as of yet,” the employee said.

Tansa president S. Peter Antonysamy said the Association had submitted representations to various departments, pressing certain demands. “The Public (Buildings) Department has kindly accepted many of our requests. It has installed sanitiser dispensers and is disinfecting the premises regularly,” he said.

Tansa had also requested that departments be allowed to function with only 33% staff, since a few cases had been reported, he said, adding: “We have also requested that pregnant women, employees above 55 years of age and those with diabetes and other health issues be exempted from having to report for work. The primary concern is that it (the virus) should not spread.”

When contacted, a senior official told The Hindu: “We have been regularly cleaning the premises, and hand sanitisers are available on all floors. We have disinfected the floors on which cases were reported, and have sent all the contacts of these positive cases to quarantine.”