New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday advised all government employees above the age of 18 years to get themselves vaccinated against coronavirus at the earliest.
He also said that in light of the increase in the number of Covid positive cases, the secretaries/HoDs were delegated the powers to regulate the attendance of employees at all levels, keeping in view the functional requirements and the number of positive cases in their respective departments.
“Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is advising all the government employees above the age of 18 years to get vaccinated at the earliest,” said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.
As per the instructions issued by the establishment division of the DoPT, he said, since the government has decided to include those aged 18 and above in the inoculation programme to contain the COVID-19, all employees of the group are advised to get vaccinated, according to a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.
The measures taken in the department in light of the second wave of coronavirus include strict follow-up on the DoPT advisories on preventive steps to be taken to contain the spread, he said.
This includes regular sanitisation/disinfection of all the office rooms, areas and surfaces, as well as corridors of the department, the statement said.
Singh further informed that provision of glass partition has been made for work-stations and plastic sheet partitions have been put in place to separate the driver’s seats in official cars, it said.
A WhatsApp group (We care) has also been created for regular counselling and providing necessary assistance to the COVID-positive employees of the department, he added.
In order to facilitate the inoculation drive, Singh said, vaccination camps are also being organised in the North Block in association with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Meanwhile, the minister said that extensive use of webinars and video conferencing tools is being made to carry out work in an uninterrupted manner.
He said, it is heartening to note that all the files in the DoPT are being cleared on time and sometimes urgent ones are also cleared in the late hours.
