The State Government on Wednesday issued a circular prohibiting the use of biometric attendance in all Government offices across Jharkhand amid Novel Coronavirus fear – a precautionary measure taken in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading in the State, officials from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms said.
“We have issued a circular asking all Government offices across Jharkhand to stop the use of biometric attendance temporarily as a precautionary measure against Novel Coronavirus,” Personnel and Administrative Reforms Secretary AK Singh said. Almost all Government offices in Jharkhand, and also schools and colleges, use biometrics to mark the attendance of employees. Their attendance, sources said, will now be marked manually in registers.
Meanwhile, Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Ranchi on Wednesday sent samples of three persons to labs for Coronavirus tests.
The premiere State-run hospital has already sent eight samples for tests in the past month or so, and none of them came out positive, said RIMS Superintendent Dr. Vivek Kashyap. “The three fresh samples sent today (Wednesday) are all of people staying in and around Ranchi. We will get the test results by Friday,” he said.
RIMS has also arranged for 450 pieces of N95 masks for protection of caregivers at the hospital, said Kashyap, adding that as per the current situation in the hospital, the number of masks available was sufficient. “We do not have any positive cases of Cornavirus yet. We are only keeping symptomatic patients and the ones who have travelled to affected countries under observation,” said Kashyap.
N95 masks are special protective masks used by medical practitioners and caregivers working in close proximity with patients.
However, it is not for use by commoners as they do not come in close contact with patients, said Kashyap, adding that three-layer surgical masks were as effective as N95 masks in case commoners wish to wear masks for their safety.
RIMS has also set up an 18-bed Isolation Ward for Coronavirus patients. All the nurses and doctors working in the ward have been provided N95 masks and elaborately explained about the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in case a patient complains of symptoms similar to that of Coronavirus and is admitted in the hospital.
At least 80 residents of Jharkhand are under observation amid Coronavirus fear, but none of them have tested positive in the tests so far, officials from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) have said.
As many as 21 persons are under observation for Coronavirus in Jamshedpur – the highest among all the major cities in Jharkhand, IDSP officials said.
As many as eight people are under observation in Capital Ranchi and 16 in Saraikela, they added. Around eight people are under observation in Bokaro too.
“Only those residents of Jharkhand who have travelled to places like Italy, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and other affected countries have been kept under observation here,” said IDSP Director Rakesh Dayal.