As the number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 29 on Wednesday, the Karnataka government has advised companies to allow their employees to work from home if they have flu-like symptoms.
"Those employees having flu-like symptoms may be allowed to work from home with advice of standard hand hygiene and cough etiquette," the Health Department said in its advisory.
The government also asked people to avoid non-essential travel to countries affected with coronavirus and refrain from travel to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and Japan.
"Employees other than those restricted countries arriving directly or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Maccau, Veitnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE and Qatar must undergo medical screening at airport entry," the advisory read.
The advisory also mandated employees arriving in India through all international flights to furnish a self-declaration form, including phone numbers and address in India, and travel history to health officials and immigration officials.
Companies have been asked to promote good respiratory hygiene and ensure the availability of surgical masks and paper tissues at workplaces only for those who develop a running nose or cough at work along with closed bins for their hygienic disposal.
The advisory comes a day after a Paytm employee in Gurgaon who recently returned from a vacation in Italy has tested positive for novel coronavirus. The company has advised all its employees to work from home for the next couple of days while the Gurgaon unit gets sanitised.
"One of our colleagues based out of Gurgaon office who recently returned from Italy post a vacation has sadly been tested positive for Coronavirus. He is receiving appropriate treatment. As a precautionary measure, we have suggested his team members to get health tests done immediately," a Paytm spokesperson said.
"We have also advised all our colleagues to work from home for a couple of days while we get our offices sanitized. However, there will not be any impact on our daily operations and Paytm services will continue as usual," the spokesperson added.