As the Tamil Nadu government’s advocate general explained in the Madras High Court that the number of COVID-19 cases might increase in the coming days and touch two lakh, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy sat with his cabinet colleague K.A. Sengottaiyan to discuss the challenges in conducting the SSLC exams as scheduled. But, as the chief minister held a slew of meetings, all was not well in the chief minister’s office and Fort St George, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu.
The state secretariat has turned into a new COVID-19 hotspot in the recent days—a time when the chief minister and his ministers are fighting hard to contain the spread. On Monday, according to highly placed sources in the secretariat, at least three people in the chief minister’s office, two office assistants and a section officer, have tested positive for COVID-19. While the source of their infection is yet to be ascertained, the number of positive cases has been steadily increasing in the secretariat. At least three IAS officers, in the industries department and finance department, have quarantined themselves.
It all began on May 18, after the government issued orders to its employees to get back to work. The ‘six-day working week system’ was brought back from May 18 to compensate the working hours lost during the lockdown period. Further, the government offices, which were functioning with 33 per cent employees, began working with 50 per cent workforce. On May 18, as the employees got back to work, they were sent into the secretariat building through one specific gate, after thermal screening for fever and other symptoms.
On the first day, at least 20 people who got into the secretariat building had high temperature and were asked to go for testing. Out of these 20, 18 tested positive for COVID-19. An employee from the public accounts committee office tested positive. So, on May 20, this office room alone in the state secretariat was closed. The number slowly increased since then, with at least 40 officers in various departments infected. “We continue to work. No office is closed or sanitised. Except for automatic hand sanitiser and clean toilets, unlike earlier, there is no safety for us. Our colleagues in containment zones are forced to come to work, as they cant afford to go on leave,” a senior official in the finance department told THE WEEK.
After this, work at the secretariat continued to be normal with 50 per cent employees working in alternate shifts for six days a week. But, within weeks, highly placed sources say, the infection spread began as many of them were coming from the containment zones. Sources say a couple, working in the social welfare department and personnel and administration department, came to work from one of the containment areas. Both section officers have tested positive and at least 25 employees in these two departments have now given their swabs for testing. Meanwhile, many employees fear they will contract the virus.
In a letter written to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami, the secretariat employees association President S. Peter Anthonsamy demanded that the government employees and their parents be brought under the government medical insurance scheme. “In the past few weeks, at least 40 officers working in various departments in the state secretariat have been infected by COVID-19. They have been isolated in various hospitals and quarantine centres across the city for treatment and medical help. As these employees were at work, there is high risk of others who came in contact with them also being infected. At this juncture, I request the chief minister to allow only 33 per cent employees to work, instead of 50 per cent, till the lockdown ends. With this we can ensure that the spread doesn’t turn into community transmission,” Anthonsamy wrote in the letter.
Meanwhile, a joint director of directorate of government examinations inside the DPI campus at Nungambakkam tested positive on Sunday. A total of four persons, including three officials and one office assistant, have also tested positive. This has created panic among the staff inside the DPI campus, as there are around 40 sections with 220 employees working at the directorate. Most of the employees have been at work for the past few weeks, as they are into evaluation of class 12 and class 11 answer papers. They are also involved in preparatory works for conducting class 10 public exams.
