Staff Report
ISLAMABAD-Two officials of the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and its attached department were tested positive for coronavirus yesterday.
Unfortunately one officer of Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has been tested corona positive, said a spokesman of the Petroleum Division Friday.
Similarly, another official of the OGDCL was also tested corona positive, official source told The Nation.
Regarding the officer of the Petroleum division, the spokesman said that he was posted in Petroleum House situated at G5 Islamabad. The officer is currently in isolation and all measures are being taken to provide the best medical care to him. Reportedly, the officer caught the infection from his household.
The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) is following all health advisories pertaining to corona pandemic. The said officer is not attending office since 20th March, 2020 and since then no new case of infection has been reported.
The spokesperson added that all other employees are in good health and the Ministry is in regular contact with NIH/NDMA. NIH has been requested to conduct test of employees working in Petroleum House and NDMA to fumigate the building.
Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has already advised all officers to work with minimum staff on rotation basis and also issued a travel advisory across the Division, taking full precautionary measures and suspending all non-essential travel amidst Coronavirus crisis in the country.
Another source in the Petroleum House told the scribe that the official was working as a Deputy Director in the Minerals Wing. It is worth to mention here that Petroleum House is a nine-storey building where five Directorate Generals of Petroleum Division including DG Gas, DG Oil, DG LGs, DGPC, DG admin, Mineral Wing, and government-owned companies including GHPL, PLDL, PLL and ISGL are housed.
Hundreds of staff working in the DGs and companies are daily using the same elevators and the unusual announcement of the petroleum division, regarding one of its employees tested positive, has created panic among those officials and majority of them are reluctant to come to office on Monday, the sources said. The source said that instead of sealing the entire building the government is likely to seal one floor of the building which is being used by Mineral wing, the source said. Regarding the official of the OGDCL, a source said that during a routine scanning process one of the official of the company was detected with fever a week ago and he was sent to home. The source said that the official later was tested positive in NIH.
When contacted Spokesman of the OGDCL confirmed the case, and said that they are regularly fumigating the entire building, using sanitizers at the entrance and all the floors of the building. Similarly they are screening all the employees of the OGDCL.
