In view of fast increasing Covid-19 cases in the State capital city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday issued fresh guidelines restricting engagement of labourers from Covid hotspot areas.
As per the guidelines, the labourers belonging to hotspot States or districts of Odisha would not be allowed to work in Bhubaneswar till end of July.
“Any business organisation like industrial, construction, hotels/hospitality (facilities), contractors (both Government and private) shall not bring any worker/labourer from outside State to BMC jurisdiction till July 31,” said the BMC Commissioner said.
The civic body advised the organisations and contractors to utilise locally available human resources till the end of July.
In case the business establishments bring workers from outside the State, they should ensure their quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival.
If the workers deployed by an organisation develop symptoms of Covid-19, the business owner would have to bear the expenses for conducting Covid tests on the workers and would inform the BMC about the results, the BMC Commissioner said.
The workers would have to go for 14 days mandatory quarantine even after undergoing Covid tests.
In case the business establishments planning to hire workers from other parts of Odisha, they should avoid bringing any worker from hotspot districts including Ganjam, Gajapati, Baleswar, Cuttack and Jajpur. They can prefer workers from non-hotspot districts till July 31, the release stated.
However, the same principle of 14-day quarantine and testing strategy mentioned above shall have to be followed. Any deviation in this regard by any business establishment shall be viewed seriously.
The move came after some workers from outside Odisha and engaged at an under-construction apartment were tested positive for Covid-19 in Bhubaneswar recently. Even though the workers were under quarantine, the possibility of spread of the virus due to small negligence cannot be ruled out, the BMC said.