Coronavirus: Assam bans biometric attendance in govt, private institutions till Mar 31

Amid coronavirus outbreak, the Assam government on Monday directed all its departments and private institutions in the sate to stop the use of biometric attendance systems till March 31 to prevent the spread of the disease.

"In view of threat of novel coronavirus in the country and as a part to ensure all possible preventive measures to stop the virus from spreading, all offices in the state/institutions (both public and private)/PSUs/commercial organisations are directed to stop use of Biometric Attendance Systems where physical contact is required with the system of attendance," said an official notice from the Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi.

However, as per the notice, any other biometric attendance system where physical contact is not required shall continue to be used as earlier.

The notice further said: "During this period, the attendance may be marked manually in the office registers and maintained by the Head of the Office appropriately."

The order shall remain in force till March 31.

A total of 110 cases of coronavirus, including 17 foreign nationals, have been confirmed across India, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.