One in 3 in Maharashtra CMO seropositive, but just 1 staffer had Covid

MUMBAI: One in every three staffers at the Maharashtra chief minister’s office (CMO) in Mantralaya has developed antibodies against Covid-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus.
A special testing drive in the 127-member team—comprising 2 IAS officers, guards, peons and canteen workers, among others— showed 42 had antibodies. Of these 42, only one had previously tested positive for Covid. The CMO team says the results are a testimony to “good Covid etiquette” of following precautions such as using masks, regular handwashing and maintaining social distance.

Incidentally, antibody surveys by private labs in the general community, too, have shown roughly one-third positivity.
Covid hotspots in CMO identified
The results show we have safety measures in place in the office and all staffers follow them,” said Dr Pradnya Kasar, vigilance officer for the CMO.
If the measures were not observed, the highly contagious virus would have affected the entire team. “In fact, people who have tested negative have had no exposure at all,” Kasar added.
The CMO, on the sixth floor, is the busiest in Mantralaya with the highest footfall. It is fitted with touch-free sanitizer machines and visitors are not allowed without proper masks. Most work is done over the phone, via email or other virtual tools.
Most staffers, though, use public transport to get to work. Also, the precaution that most Mantralaya departments follow of not touching a file for 48 hours (to ensure any virus residue dies naturally) cannot be followed in the CMO. “Files that come to the CMO need to be dealt with on an urgent basis,” said Kasar, adding the office has been working throughout the lockdown.
Mantralaya has been a Covid-19 hotspot with several ministers and staffers testing positive. In fact, the officers association has been demanding the government do away with the compulsion of 100% attendance.
The antibody test has, apart from revealing seropositivity among staffers, also allowed the team to identify high-risk zones within the office and plan ways to make them safer. “The inward and CM’s relief fund sections are among the high-risk areas as there is a huge movement of people and documents are submitted here daily,” said Kasar. Some staffers of these sections have tested positive for antibodies.