As virus spreads, govt. tells public officials to work from home

As the number of officials infected with COVID-19 continues to rise in the administrative capital of Sejong, the government has required all public servants to work from home on shifts.

The Ministry of Personnel Management said Thursday that it has delivered to some 50 central government agencies a set of guidelines to reduce the number of people working in the offices.

Heads of agencies will set the percentage of remotely working officials, and all non-managerial staff will take turns to work from home or the so-called “smart work centers” run by the government.

On Friday, three more cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed at the Oceans Ministry, bringing the number of patients among public servants in Sejong to 26.

The total number of COVID-19 patients from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries rose to 21, after adding 13 new cases on Thursday.

The Sejong government complex reported its first case last Saturday -- a Health Ministry official who is believed to have contracted the virus at a Zumba class.

Most of the infections in the beginning were traced to the Zumba dance instructor, but the virus now appears to be spreading in the government complex, raising fears of a cluster infection.

The passages that connect the 17 buildings of the complex have been closed off since March 3.

The Sejong government complex accommodates 35 ministries and agencies employing 15,000 workers.

The latest guidelines include reducing contact among staff by setting different lunch hours and morning reporting times for agencies and departments.

Each department will designate a health manager who checks employees’ temperatures and whether they have respiratory symptoms every day.

On Friday, a drive-thru examination center was set up within the Sejong government complex where examinees can get 10-minute medical check-ups while remaining inside their cars.

The Government Buildings Management Office said it has been disinfecting the floors every day in addition to disinfecting the building interiors twice a week, and rearranged seats at the cafeteria to let people avoid sitting face to face.

The facial recognition system at the entrances of four central government complexes in Seoul, Sejong, Gwacheon and Daejeon has been suspended since Wednesday to allow employees to wear masks at all times.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)