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Over 5,000 employees of Noida authority to undergo Covid-19 test
NOIDA The Noida authority has decided to conduct Covid-19 test of all its permanent and temporary employees to identify the infected staff and provide them treatment
NOIDA The Noida authority has decided to conduct Covid-19 test of all its permanent and temporary employees to identify the infected staff and provide them treatment at an early stage, officials said.
To begin with, the authority on Monday organised a testing camp at its main administrative building in Sector 6. The drive is expected to be completed in a week, the officials said, adding that the testing will be done using rapid antigen kits.
The drive will cover about 1,200 permanent employees, including top officials, and nearly 4,000 temporary employees, who are engaged in jobs like sanitation and supply of essential goods, the officials said.
“On day one, 132 employees were tested. Of which only one employee, who is an assistant junior engineer, was found positive. The administration is taking required action in this regard to ensure the infection can be prevented,” said SC Mishra, senior project engineer, Noida authority.
The Noida authority has its water department office building in Sector 5, horticulture department office in Sector 39 and engineering department office in Sector 19, and other smaller offices.
“We aim to test all of our employees in the next one week or so. The camp will cover both the permanent and temporary staff members,” said Mishra.
On Monday, among senior officials, two additional CEOs and three officers on special duty (OSDs) also tested negative.
Last month, five employees of the authority, including one OSD level officer, had tested positive, but all of them have recovered.
Residents’ welfare associations, apartment owners associations and other social groups were demanding that those employees, who are engaged in sanitization, waste collection and supply of essential goods in containment zones, should be tested as they are vulnerable to the infection.
The district administration is already taking help of RWAs and AOAs in organising camps to conduct rapid antigen tests to identify the positive cases early. “We have requested all social groups to help us organise camps for the rapid antigen tests. The objective is that testing and treatment should not be delayed at all,” said Narendra Bhooshan, nodal officer for Covid-19 preparations in the Gautam Budh Nagar district.
