Civil Aviation Ministry Headquarters To Be Sealed After Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus

The Civil Aviation Ministry headquarters at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan in New Delhi are going to be sealed “as per the prescribed protocol” after an employee tested positive with novel coronavirus on Tuesday (21 April), Union Minister Hardeep Puri said.

The Minister added that the officials who came in direct contact with the person concerned will be tested for COVID-19, while others have been asked to go into self-isolation, Hindustan Times reported.

“An employee of the ministry who had attended office on 15 April has tested positive for COVID19 on 21 April. All necessary protocols are being stringently followed on the premises. All colleagues who came in contact are being asked to go into self-isolation as a precaution,” the ministry of civil aviation said in a statement.

“Government of Delhi is seized of the matter. They are taking appropriate steps as per the laid protocol for contact tracing and risk profiling,” it added.

This is the first confirmed case of the deadly virus in any central government ministry.

According to a government official quoted in the report, the employee who tested positive had complained of having throat pain a couple of days ago.