Two more LS Secretariat employees test positive for COVID-19: Sources

Two more employees of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, including a security official, have been found positive for COVID-19, sources said on Friday.

With this, three Secretariat employees have tested positive.

The first employee to test positive for the virus was a housekeeper, who had been at home since the Budget Session was adjourned on March 23, the sources said.

The other two were found positive after Parliament resumed on May 3, when Lockdown 2.0 concluded. One of them was a security official and the other worked in the editorial and translation (E&T) services at the Parliament Annexe building, they said.

The E&T official attended office after May 3, they added.

However, the Lok Sabha Secretariat authorities had sanitised the entire premises before resuming operations and continued to take all precautions thereafter.

Employees are now allowed to enter Parliament only after proper screening. All vehicles are also sanitised before entering the complex.

Sources suggested that there have been a few symptomatic cases of the coronavirus among employees working in different secretariats and branches at Parliament and its adjoining buildings.

Government buildings in the vicinity of the Parliament complex such as Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan and NITI Aayog, which have offices of several ministries and ministers, were sealed for a day or two following the detection of COVID-19 cases there.