Corporates return to WFH as IT firm turns cluster

“All our staff members are being screened on a daily basis. We resumed work from office in January after about ten months of work from home by all employees. However, we are reverting to work from home position as staff from other corporate offices are being tested positive for the virus,” said S Vetri, a corporate office employee in Ekkattuthangal. After a corporate office in an IT park reported more than 40 positive cases of COVID-19, other corporate offices have stepped up the screening and testing of the employees. 

“As a lot of employees from one of the IT offices in the neighbourhood tested positive we are screening our employees as a precautionary measure. At least 70 per cent of the employees have been given work from home facility. If the cases surge, all the staff will soon be asked to work from home,” said P Deva, another employee from a corporate office in an IT park in Thiruvanmiyur. 

The state health department officials say that the corporate offices have been instructed to keep a regular check on standard operating procedures and follow the staff members are to comply with contract tracing if anyone tests positive for COVID-19. 

“Saturated testing is being done for all the employees in any corporate office that records any case of COVID-19. There are a few clusters reported from corporate offices that are being followed up,” said Dr TS Selvavinayagam director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.