Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is advising all the Govt employees above the age of 18 years to get vaccinated.This was disclosed here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also In-Charge DoPT, while briefing the media about the measures taken in the light of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.As per the instructions issued by the Establishment Division of DoPT, Dr Jitendra Singh said, since the Government has decided to include the population of age of 18 and above in the inoculation programme to contain the COVID-19, all employees of the group are advised to get vaccinated. Further, in the light of the recent increase in the number of COVID positive cases, the Secretaries/HoDs were delegated the powers to regulate the attendance of the employees at all levels, keeping in view the functional requirements and number of positive cases in their respective departments.The measures taken in the department in the light of the second wave, said Dr Jitendra Singh, include strict follow-up on the DoPT advisories on preventive steps to be taken to contain the spread of COVID 19. This includes regular sanitisation/disinfection of all the office rooms, areas and surfaces, as well as corridors of the department.Dr Jitendra 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. A whatsapp group (We care) has also been created for regular counselling and providing necessary assistance to the employees of the department, who were found to be COVID positive, he added.In order to facilitate the vaccination drive, Dr Jitendra 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 the urgent files are also cleared in the late hours.
