Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Indian government will slowly start easing restrictions brought on by the global Coronavirus pandemic. Our country has been on lock-down from March 25th till May 3rd and this phased reboot of economic activities, is an attempt at curbing the damage this has done, to our economy and, by proxy, the livelihoods of as many as 40 Crore impoverished.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on April 14 that the national lockdown will be extended till May 3 but said some of the curbs would be lifted in places outside “containment zones” and in areas where the potential of the pathogen spreading was low, to revive economic activity.

So far, more than 16,000 Indians have been infected and 543 have died because of the COVID-19 virus. Now, from Monday, select few sectors of the economy will be able resume operations, especially in areas with few or no infections, orange and green zones, respectively. Union Home Ministry had, in its guidelines issued on April 15th, made eligible factories in special economic zones (SEZs) and export oriented units (EoUs), industrial estates and townships, apart from industries in rural areas, to open from April 20. The labour ministry had also directed the IT/ITes Firms to start working, at 50% capacity.

This new list by the government comes with its own set of caveats, so to speak. Certain restrictions have to be followed by organization who are willing to start operations. These include ensuring no group meeting of 10 people or more, that every employee wears a face mask and is no closer than 6 feet of each other, at all times. This new circular also advises Indians below 5 and over 65 years of age to stay home and WFH, if possible.

Here are the new set of rules Government has outlined for Indian office spaces. These are to be followed, from April 20th:

Operational Rules

  • No employee should be closer than 6 feet from another.
  • Lunch breaks to be staggered to avoid gatherings.
  • Meetings of 10 people or more cannot be conducted.
  • Employees need to work in shifts, with a one-hour gap between shifts.
  • No “non-essential” visitors are to be allowed in offices.
  • Use of staircases to be encouraged. In case of lifts, no more than 2-4 people should be allowed at a time.
  • For staff dependent on public transport, vehicles will need to be arranged by companies. These will be allowed to work with 30-40% passenger capacity.

Health and Hygiene

  • Masks, to be made, mandatory for all employees.
  • Adequate hand sanitizers to be available.
  • Thermal screening mandatory for all staff.
  • All workplaces to keep a list of COVID-ready hospitals nearby.
  • Use of Aarogya Setu App is to be encouraged.

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