The health and family welfare ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research are now considering containment and mitigation measures such as pool testing.
New Delhi: Offices reopening after an extended lockdown may not be sealed completely upon discovery of a Covid-19 case on their premises, said officials familiar with the protocol that will be followed as India looks to restart more economic activities while keeping the pandemic in check.
“The office building will not be sealed or declared a containment zone. Instead, the authorities will quarantine the contacts of Covid-positive person and disinfect the floor or area, depending upon the advice of local authorities,” said one of the officials, who did not wish to be identified.
The district magistrate will act as per the advice of health experts, said another official. “But there are no instructions to seal the building for three months,” the official added.
Pool Testing Proposed This is in keeping with Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla’s advice to states and Union territories in a recent letter, in which he said the guidelines issued by the home ministry “should not be used to harass the management of any manufacturing and commercial establishments”.
The health and family welfare ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research are now considering containment and mitigation measures such as pool testing. “Instead of asking a whole bunch of people to self-quarantine for 14 days, they can be tested and confirmed,” said an official.
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K Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), told ET: “Now that we are looking at availability of more antigen kits, we may be able to do pool testing. This will be able to decide which parts of the building, an office complex or a residential complex need to be sealed and where others shown to be uninfected can continue to function.”
The technical committee on Covid-19 in the health and family welfare ministry has suggested that even an infected workplace need not be sealed for a long time but instead it can sanitised and used after 12 hours, said an official.
“In Tablighi Jamaat case too, the whole area was sanitised and closed for 48 hours to be on the safer side. This can be a new norm to sanitise the premises and open it after 12 hours for use,” said Sujeet Kumar Singh, director, National Centre for Disease Control.
Advisory to employers
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Employers have been advised to work with half the staff strength at any given time and ensure social distancing, hygiene and sanitation. “If feeling unwell, the employee should immediately leave the workplace and inform his reporting authority and home quarantine for the rest of period. Employees who are in the high risk zones like older and pregnant women should not be exposed in any front line work, requiring direct contacts,” said the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the health ministry.
The government is also counting on its Aarogya Setu app. “The app comes into play here. This will help in contact tracing and only those who are in close contact can be asked to self-quarantine. The rest can continue to work,” said an official.
