New Delhi

Union Minister Jitendra Singh was on Wednesday during a meeting apprised that out of 663 officers and staff of the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT), 46 got infected with mild symptoms of COVID-19 and 20 of them already recovered.

Similarly, 8 persons out of 158 from the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and 6 employees out of 58 from the Department of Pensions got infected in the third wave, however not a single case of hospitalisation was reported so far. Singh on Wednesday reached out to employees "Working From home" and also officers and staff of Ministry of Personnel DoPT DARPG, Public Grievances and Pensions who are in quarantine or infected by COVID-19. He inquired about the well-being of each one of them and also asked them to share their experience as well as suggestions.

During the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh noted with satisfaction that all the eligible employees of the age of 18 years and above got vaccinated with both the doses and made a general appeal to people who are yet to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should do so immediately in the wake of surge because of Omicron spread. Singh lauded the efforts, dedication and commitment of the officers and staff toward the office functioning without interruption during the pandemic and noted with appreciation that work output has not suffered and rather in some cases work output increased because of target-oriented work culture with flexible timing.

He said the overall output was also better due to the near-total adoption of e-office mode. Moreover, Work from Home (WFH) also resulted in employees working during weekends and holidays to achieve the given target, the Minister added. Several officers and staff of the Ministry shared their experiences online with Dr Jitendra Singh and all of them reiterated their commitment to target-oriented work culture. The Minister assured those affected and their family members all help and support from the Ministry.

Singh said, as per the latest O.M. of DoPT, pregnant women employees and Divyang employees have been exempted from attending office and the physical attendance of government servants below the level of Under Secretary has been restricted to 50 per cent of the actual strength and the remaining 50% shall work from home.

However, the Minister said, the officials/staff who are not attending the office and are working from home shall remain available on the telephone and other electronic means of communications at all times.

The Minister advised all the officers/staff to ensure strict compliance of COVID-appropriate behaviour i.e. frequent washing of hands/sanitisation, wearing face mask/face cover and observing social distancing all the time. Proper cleaning and sanitisation of the workplace, particularly frequently touched surfaces, may also be ensured.