Published 16:07 IST, February 18th 2020
Delhi's Maharishi Valmiki Hospital suspends biometric attendance due to coronavirus threat
Maharishi Valmiki Hospital has suspended biometric attendance in wake of the coronavirus threat. All officers are now required to mark their attendance manually
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The administration of Maharishi Valmiki Hospital on Monday has suspended biometric attendance in wake of the coronavirus threat. All officers are now required to mark their attendance in a register. The hospital has suspended biometric attendance for its employees as a "precautionary measure" after many of them complained of "psychological unease" over the coronavirus scare, a senior official said.
"In view of coronavirus threat, the biometric attendance is suspended till further orders. All officers/officials shall continue to mark their manual attendance in their respective attendance registers," read an official statement. The attendance is now being marked manually till further orders, the official said, adding that the measure has been taken to offer "psychological ease" to employees as they are aware of coronavirus and how it spreads.
The Delhi government on February 5 had issued a health advisory on the novel coronavirus (nCov) and prescribed do's and dont's for the public to ward off any infection. An around-the-clock control room has also been set up at the Directorate General of Health Services' headquarters and in the 11 districts to address queries related to the virus. Seventeen Delhi residents, out of a large number of passengers who had arrived here from China and other coronavirus-affected countries before the screening at the airport began around mid-January, have been found symptomatic for the infection and hospitalised, officials earlier said.
Health advisory by Delhi govt
In its health advisory, the Delhi government had asked people to exercise caution, like cleaning hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub; covering nose and mouth while coughing; sneezing using tissue; avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms; avoiding frozen meat, besides isolation of symptomatic patients for at least 14 days.
Among the do's prescribed to people, the government asked them to frequently wash hands with soap and water; avoid crowded places; stay more than an arm's length distance from persons sick with flu; take adequate sleep and rest, and drink plenty of water and consume a liquid diet and eat nutritious food. It also asked people to avoid frozen meat and shake hands while greeting in public instead of hugging, and not touch surfaces usually used by the public such as railings, door gates, avoid smoking in public places; and not go for unnecessary testing.
The novel coronavirus disease, dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in late December 2019 and has since spread to more than 20 other countries.
(with inputs from agencies)
16:07 IST, February 18th 2020