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In view of the surge in covid-19 cases in the country, the Odisha government has decided that all government and sub-ordinate offices in the state will function with 50% strength of employees from January 7 till January 31.
"The Departments/ Head of offices may decide the manner of selection of employees who will attend Office," an official order from General Administration and Public Grievance Department said.
However, all essential offices and services like the special relief commissioner and Odisha state disaster management authority, police, fire, health and municipal services, office of the State Election Commissioner, and those related to the conduct of panchayat election have been exempted from the purview of the order. These departments will function in full strength, the Government of Odisha said in the order.
Whereas, offices of all recruiting institutions like Odisha Public Service Commission, Odisha Staff Selection Commission, Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission will function at 75% of their strength of employees.
Further, the Odisha government said that the officers and staff, who are not assigned duty on the roster, should work from home with a VPN provided to them for attending the regular and pending works.
The employees with disability and pregnant women employees may be exempted from attending office and working from home.
Odisha government has geared up to tackle a possible third wave of coronavirus. The special Covid hospitals which were operational during the second wave of the pandemic will be kept ready apart from all the government facilities, officials said. Patients of the disease will be given free of cost treatment beginning from testing to medicines, oxygen, and other requirements, and dedicated Covid hospitals will be revived across the state, they said.
Yesterday, Odisha reported its first death due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Odisha’s Omicron case tally has increased to 61 on after 24 more cases were detected on Wednesday. The variant has been found in almost all the 30 districts of the state.
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