The State Health and Family Welfare Department on Wednesday issued an advisory to information technology and biotechnology companies to avoid non-essential travel of their employees to countries affected by coronavirus. This comes after a software engineer who travelled from Dubai to Bengaluru contracted COVID-19. He is under observation in Hyderabad.
The advisory, issued by Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, has asked the companies to refrain their employees from travelling to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy, and Japan.
“Any passenger who has visited affected countries in the last 14 days and come to Karnataka, he/she has to self-intimate to the Health Department. If he/she has to travel again from Bengaluru to other places, he/she has to take permission from the Health Department or he/she has to intimate the officials concerned of the Health Department,” the advisory stated.
Regarding any symptoms or travel history to COVID-19 affected countries, people can report to ‘104’ Arogya Sahayavani toll-free helpline and email to ssuidspbanga lore@gmail.com.
The department has also advised companies to allow employees with flu-like symptoms to work from home and spread awareness on standard hand hygiene and cough etiquette.
“Put sanitising hand rub dispensers (alcohol based) in prominent places and provide access to places where staff can wash their hands with soap and water. Surfaces (desks and tables) and objects (telephone, keyboards, etc.) should be wiped with disinfectants regularly,” the advisory said.
Intel on Wednesday said it would strictly adhere to the advisory issued by the government. One of its employees — a flatmate of the software engineer who contracted the virus — is under observation. “We already have put some measures in place to ensure safety. Further to that, we will also fully adhere to the State government’s recent advisory,” said the microprocessor major.
Wipro takes steps
Tech major Wipro has suspended travel to and transit through mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau, until further notice. Employees have also been advised to avoid non-critical travel to Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Italy, said the company on Wednesday.
Any employee who travelled to an affected area within China in the last few days has been asked to work from home for 14 days before returning to office. The company has also advised all its employees to be vigilant, especially those based in China and those who visited the country recently.
Wipro has also formed cross-functional local and central teams to closely monitor and assess the evolving situation and decide the course of action.
“We do not have employees in Wuhan province. We have enabled a significant number of employees based in China to work from home and have also requested them to be on self-quarantine in case they or their family members show any symptoms. That apart, we have taken all necessary measures at our offices there, including thermal screening, surgical masks, and frequent sanitisation of premises,” said a spokesperson from Wipro Ltd., in response to a query.
Cognizant also released a statement on precautions taken and said it was closely monitoring the situation.
