As virus worry deepens, government officials fear going to work; BJP closes office till further notice

Ranchi: After a minister tested positive for Covid-19, Nepal Building, one of the secretariat buildings of the state government, on Thursday witnessed a sharp fall in attendance, security officials manning the main gate said. The state minister, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday night, has his office and the departments that he heads at the Nepal Building, which has caused panic among government staff here.
While the minister is undergoing treatment at Rims, his departments have been sealed till further notice on Wednesday and security has been heightened at the entrance to Nepal Building. A Jharkhand police personnel, who was one of the cops manning the entry gate, said on the condition of anonymity, “We have orders to not allow anyone inside the building. Only staff with identity cards can enter the premises after having their body temperatures checked.”
He added that the attendance fell drastically on Thursday. “Compared to Wednesday, even fewer staff came to work on Thursday,” he said. A staff of the state forest department, unwilling to be named, said, “On Thursday, I went to office but today I chose to stay at home as a precaution.” Another official in the agriculture department said, “I wasn’t feeling good today, so I took a day’s leave.”
Project Building, which is another secretariat building and houses the chief minister’s office, besides other key departments like finance, home and building construction, among others, too, wore a deserted look on Thursday.
State personnel department secretary Ajoy Kumar said that the government departments had been asked to operate with only 33% staff. “We have also allowed people with co-morbidities or critical health issues to work from home after informing their seniors. Moreover, different departments take a call on the issue as per their requirements on a day-to-day basis,” he told reporters.
The scare was writ large among political parties, too, following a JMM legislator testing positive. After JMM on Wednesday, opposition BJP shut its state headquarters on Thursday as a precautionary step.
BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “We are being very cautious in the wake of Covid-19 and people were being called for meetings at the party office only in case of exigencies.”
He took a dig at Congress for being too casual. Shahdeo said that a Congress delegation met the chief minister at the latter’s office on the day the two lawmakers tested positive. “The CM has home quarantined himself but Congress leaders who met him are roaming freely. Ideally, they should have also gone into isolation,” Shahdeo said.