Bangladesh restricts presence of govt employees in offices in pandemic

The government has prohibited the presence of more than 25 percent of employees in offices as part of a measure against the coronavirus.

The decision came after Bangladesh reopened its economy, ending a two-month coronavirus lockdown.

“Our primary goal is not to put employees at risk of infection. So we will only do the necessary work with a minimum of employees,” State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told bdnews24.com on Monday.

“We want that no more than 25 percent of the employees will be in offices at any given time. Another 25 percent can work remotely, meaning 50 percent of the employees will be connected to work,” he added.

Bangladesh has lifted the shutdown and reopened all government offices with reduced capacity while resuming public transport services under similar guidelines.

“If someone comes to the office and finishes up work in two hours, he or she will not have to wait until 5 pm. If that person leaves work by 11 am, someone else may come in and work,” Farhad said.

“If offices require more than 25 percent of the employees to work, they can come in after the departure of those who came in at 9 am,” he said.

Some employees arrived at work without necessity which was a risk, Farhad said sharing the experiences of the first two days of reopening.