Rail Bhavan to shut down for 2nd time in fortnight as staffer tests positive

• A fourth grade multi-tasking staffer, who last attended the office on May 19, tested Covid-19 positive. Nine of his contacts at the Rail Bhavan had been home quarantined
• Offices at fourth floor of Rail Bhavan will remain close till Friday for thorough disinfection

NEW DELHI : An employee of the Rail Bhavan here tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday, leading to the closure of all offices of the Railways Ministry for the next two days, the second time in less than a fortnight.

A fourth-grade multitasking staffer who attended office till last Tuesday is the fifth COVID-19 case detected in the building in less than two weeks. Nine of his contacts at Rail Bhavan have been sent to home quarantine, officials said.

The staffer was responsible for taking files from one official to another, thus coming in contact with several people during the day. They also move files to the Chairman of the Railway Board and the Railway Minister's office.

"Some Officials of Railway Board have recently tested COVID-positive. Accordingly it has been decided to close all Offices at Rail Bhavan on 26th and 27th May, 2020 to carry out intensive sanitization of rooms and common areas," said an order hours after the fifth case came to light.

Offices at fourth floor of Rail Bhavan will remain close till Friday for thorough disinfection, it said.

On Sunday, one senior official had tested Covid-19 positive. She had attended work last on May 20. As many as 14 officials who worked closely with her have been home quarantined.

A day before, another senior officer, involved with restructuring of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), at the Rail Bhavan — had tested positive.

According to the Ministry officials, the woman staffer had visited the Rail Bhavan on May 13, after which it was shut for sanitisation for two days. On May 11, a RPF staffer had tested coronavirus positive.

A few days later, a contractual worker who kept monkeys out of the building with his langoor had got infected with coronavirus.

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