Hyderabad IT firms step up vigil

Employees of DSM Shared Services and government officials heaved a sigh of relief after a woman staffer of the company, who was down with suspected Covid-19 (Novel Corona virus), tested negative.

She, along with another woman, were tested negative on Thursday.

The firm shut down its two facilities here on Wednesday for cleaning the premises and asked the staff to work from home. The development created a flutter in the IT hub areas of Madhapur and Gachibowli, with several IT firms issuing advisories to their employees. Some of them asked their employees to work from home.

The Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA), which has about 1,000 IT firms as members, too mailed a set of suggestions to the companies on how to tackle the problem.

The evacuation happened at the DSM office at the Raheja Mindspace facility after rumours flew thick and fast. Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Cyberabad Commissioner V C Sajjanar cautioned the rumour-mongers with strict action.

Pegasystems Managing Director Suman Reddy sent an e-mail to the employees asking them to be on vigil. “If you are not comfortable coming to office, get in touch with their line in-charges to check whether they can work from home,” he said in the e-mail. “It is important in times like these that we only rely on information from reliable sources. Pega has issued measures and precautions locally and/or regionally based on specific circumstances,” he said.

“If you have travelled back from one of the high-risk countries (including a transit), we recommend that you work from home for two weeks following your return,” he said.

Some companies have asked their employees to either limit or postpone all non-essential business travel. “We recommend to conduct business meetings or events via Webex or other online channels,” a multi-national said in its mail to the employees.