A senior officer of Parliament working in the editorial and translation (E&T) services tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive recently.
The officer had attended office till May 12, which is located on the fifth floor of the Parliament annex building that houses most of the parliamentary officials and chambers for House panel meetings.
This is the second Covid-19 positive case involving a Parliament staff after a senior housekeeper had contracted SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, in April, making it the first case among the 3,000-odd staff working in the Lok Sabha secretariat.
But unlike the senior housekeeper, the E&T official had attended his office regularly before he was put under quarantine, people familiar with the matter said.
The annex building is located about 100 metres away from the main Parliament building and is connected with a dedicated road, which was earlier a part of the Talkatora Road.
The E&T’s staff’s infection, according to an official, came to light only on Thursday and since Friday morning, all necessary arrangements for sealing a block of offices on the fifth floor of the annex and a santisation drive of the building have been carried out. Contact tracing has also started in earnest.
Parliament opened with one-third staff after the lockdown 2.0 expired on May 3.
The housekeeping staff, who tested Covid-19 positive in April, was not working in the Parliament complex but in one of the establishments of the Lok Sabha secretariat at 36 Gurudwara Rakab Gunj Road.
The special Housekeeper, according to three officials, was at home since the budget session of Parliament was adjourned on March 23.
