Team Herald
panjim: Following directions from the Central government in wake of the coronavirus outbreak in India, the Goa government on Wednesday exempted its employees from marking attendance through Aadhaar-based biometric system as a preventive measure to check the spread of the COVID 19, till March 31.
Instead, they will be marking their attendance manually in the attendance register.
The Office Memorandum (OM) in this regard has been issued by Under Secretary General Administration Shripad Arlekar stating that the OM issued by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Department of Personnel and Training, has been approved by the State government.
“It is learnt that the most common method of transmission of the virus seems to be through infected surfaces. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid touching surfaces, which might be infected due to human touch,” the order by the Central Ministry said.
It said all the ministries have been asked to exempt their employees to mark attendance through the Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system till March 31. “However, all employees are required to mark their attendance in the attendance register (as done prior to launch of the biometric system), during this period,” the order issued to all central government departments said.
Though only a small number of novel coronavirus cases have been reported in the country, it is a must to take all possible preventive measures to stop its spread, the personnel ministry said.
There are no cases reported in Goa, though nearly a dozen suspects were quarantined.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told media persons that in view of the exponential rise in the coronavirus cases; safety advisory has been issued to all the departments, directing them to make available masks and sterillium to its employees.
“All departments are advised to be proactive. For extra precautions, masks will be provided to all government employees and hospital staff. Every government department are to make use of masks and sterillium,” he said.
He further recommended that people, who enter and exit hospitals, should take precautionary measures.
“The use of sterillium is important and should be encouraged in schools and colleges, which will be implemented as a top priority,” Rane added.
