Employees should work from home: Gurugram authorities to corporate offices

As the government adopts social distancing measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in India, authorities in IT hub Gurugram have asked companies to allow employees to work from home.

The Gurugram administration has issued an advisory to MNCs, BPOs and corporate offices to let their employees work from home.

As per the advisory, employees should be allowed to work from home till March 31.

Invoking sections of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, the advisory reads, “All MNCs, IT firms, industries, BPOs, corporate offices situated in district Gurugram are advised to allow their officer/employees to work from home till March 31, 2020, with immediate effect to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 in the larger public interest.”

The advisory comes a day after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed to MNCs in Gurgaon to reduce the attendance at their offices and allow as many people as possible to work from home as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus.

“A large number of people are working in big offices of multinational companies in Gurgaon. The government has already directed that more than 200 people should not gather at one place. Similarly, I appeal to managers at MNCs to keep attendance low at their offices and allow as many people as possible to work from home. Jobs related to IT can definitely do this. I appeal to MNCs to take a step forward positively,” said the Chief Minister.

On Tuesday, a 29-year-old woman from Haryana’s Gurugram district has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The woman is an employee of a Gurugram-based company and had recently travelled to Malaysia and Indonesia, the official said.

While Haryana has reported 15 novel coronavirus cases so far, all others are foreign nationals, making the Gurugram woman the first patient in Haryana.

The state government had already ordered the closure of all schools, colleges and universities in the state till March 31.

It has also ordered the closure of cinema halls, gyms, clubs, night clubs and all schools till March 31 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.