Government departments make arrangements against coronavirus pandemic

With coronavirus posing serious challenges with each passing day, the federal government departments have made precautionary arrangements against this pandemic with some departments completely closed, while others maintaining "skeleton staff" to take care of official matters.
Among several steps that various government departments have taken as a preventive against coronavirus include, exemption from biometric attendance, exemption to female employees from attending offices, exemption to male employees of 50 years of age or above from attending offices, and exemption to all those employees from attending offices who are suffering from any kind of flu, fever or any other related ailment involving viral or bacterial infections.
In addition, several public dealing departments including those of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP), Driving Licensing Branch of Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP), Excise and Taxation Department and Pakistan Railways have been closed for public dealing.
Moreover, certain federal government public dealing departments such as Pakistan Baitul Mal, Pakistan Post, the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the Chief Commissioner's Office, the Deputy Commissioner's Office and their attached offices, are open but their operations have been restricted.
Sources told Business Recorder that the federal government departments that were open including those working under the administrative ambits of the ministries of Defence and Defence Production, were following the policy of rotation; to ensure 50 per cent staff under the age of 50 in these offices on rotation basis.
Furthermore, certain classified organisations in the defence and defence production sectors have allowed only their senior officers holding administrative positions to regularly attend the offices but follow precautionary measures such as wearing masks and sanitizing hands before entering offices.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday held a meeting, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, to discuss the ECP's functioning in the backdrop of serious threat posed by coronavirus.
The meeting decided that all the female officers of the commission and the subordinate female staff would be exempted from attending the offices till April 6, a press release issued by the commission said.
The ECP's Gender, Protocol and Training Wings would be closed till April 6, the press release added.
Among other decisions, according to the press release, taken by the meeting included, allowing those employees not to attend offices who are suffering from any kind of bacterial, viral or fungal infection, but they have to get the related approval from the heads of their respective wings.
Maintaining 50 per cent working staff at the ECP Secretariat from March 25 to April 6, and fixing ECP working times from 10am to 2pm during this period were also decided at the meeting.
"The ECP officers should remain present at their duty stations till the pandemic is over, so that every possible assistance should be ensured in case the government needs from the ECP in its fight against coronavirus," the press release added.
In Pakistan, the coronavirus cases tally surpassed 916 till the filing of this report on Tuesday evening.
Of these cases, 407 coronavirus cases were reported from Sindh, 265 from Punjab, 110 from Balochistan, 81 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir/Gilgit-Baltistan, 38 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 15 from Islamabad.
Seven deaths due to coronavirus were confirmed across Pakistan, till Tuesday evening. The first coronavirus case was reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. On March 11, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared coronavirus a pandemic.
So far, up to 190 countries of the world have been affected by this deadly virus.
According to reports, more than 381,000 people have been infected worldwide by coronavirus with 16,500 dead, and over 101,000 recovered (by Tuesday evening).
The virus originated from China but, lately, the focus of this virus' devastating impact has shifted from China to Europe, and the WHO has named Europe as the new epicentre of coronavirus.