Coronavirus: IT firms to function with 25pc staff in Pune

Information Technology firms are exempted from the coronavirus lockdown as it can impact the working of banks and healthcare facilities, Pune collector Naval Kishore Ram said on Saturday.

There is some confusion about the Epidemic Diseases Act on the part of industries, he said.

"We have classified the type of factories as essential and non-essential. Those which are manufacturing essential products will continue their functions. Seventy percent of the banks and health related networks are maintained by the IT sector based in Pune. Therefore, we have allowed them to function with a maximum strength of twenty five percent of their employees," he said.

The government has permitted blood donation camps, where maximum 15 people can participate at a time as there is a shortage of blood in the city, the collector said.