Jammu and Kashmir Secretariat will remain vacuum of all its employees for the next couple of days as one among the top officials test positive for coronavirus and most of the other officers including the Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries, Commissioner Secretaries and Secretaries to other top departments go under quarantine.
A senior IAS officer posted as the principal secretary to the government, was tested for coronavirus infection at Jammu airport on his return from Srinagar and his report came positive on Saturday night, the officials said.
Officer attends a meeting involving other officials
The IAS officer, who is also assisting the health and medical education department in Covid-19 management in addition to his own duties, had attended a high-level meeting after his return from Srinagar on Saturday, the officials said.
The officer had attended a meeting in which other senior officers like a Financial Commissioner-rank officer, a Principal Secretary, and officials of the Health and Medical Education Departments had participated. A Government Medical College Principal, a senior microbiologist, and an epidemiologist also attended the meeting.
Secretariat to be vacuum
According to the sources, the Secretariat will remain vacuum for the next couple of days as around 80 contacts of the officers have tested positive for coronavirus, with most of them handling the top departments.
The move to keep the Secretariat vacuum will be first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir. In addition to this, the officials have decided to fumigate the Secretariat.
Most of his colleagues and his superiors have been quarantined. Some of them have been shifted to a hotel in Jammu, while others have been ordered to stay home for at least 14 days. Several of these officers have become incommunicado.
According to the reports, over a dozen top officials went into self-quarantine on Sunday.
Health officials said that the mandatory protocol will be followed in respect of all those who participated in the meeting and those showing flu-like symptoms will be shifted to institutional quarantine.
