With a sharp surge in the numbers of the Coronavirus all over the globe, and especially in India, social distancing has become the need of the hour. But for a crowded place like Mumbai with a whopping population of 25 million and a significant number of working-class population, a feat like that seems impossible to achieve. However, that’s when the work-from-home option can play a vital role in containing the spread of the virus.
Maharashtra is currently topping the list of states affected by the virus. Five new cases were detected today, 3 in Mumbai and 1 in Navi Mumbai. The total tally has risen to 37 cases just in Maharashtra. In India, the number of cases stands at 114.
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Will Work From Home In Mumbai Be Mandatory?
Against this steep rise in cases, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Praveen Pardeshi has issued a veiled warning to all companies to initiate work-from-home wherever possible. If necessary, he says, we will make this mandatory in the days to come. Great news, isn’t it?
A similar appeal had been made to the private sector by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, where he urged them to implement ‘work-from-home’ policies in view of the virus concerns.
This policy if implemented will help decongest suburban trains, metro networks, public buses and other forms of transport systems, which are used by the working population every day to travel to their workplaces.
The BMC Chief has said that social distancing is the key to containing the outbreak. For this reason, Maharashtra has declared the Coronavirus as an epidemic and has issued a lock-down in schools, colleges, malls, swimming pools, gyms, etc, till March 31st, 2020. However, all local transportation would continue to work for essential needs like going to hospitals or public utility services. People have been advised to avoid all non-essential travel.
Are All Companies In Mumbai Following The Work From Home Policy?
While few of the companies like Coca-Cola, Godrej Consumer and Uber have all given their employees the option to work from home, not all companies are following suit. Although precautionary measures are being observed by all.
The BMC Chief has called upon all to exercise hygiene, avoid spreading rumours and maintain calm; While we can certainly observe the former two, the latter is something which we cannot wait for!
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