Sports Minister visits SAI headquarters, essential staff resumes office

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Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday visited the Sports Authority of India's headquarter where senior officials and other essential staff resumed operations after more than a fortnight of working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister visited the SAI headquarters here wearing a mask and sanitised his hands before entering the premises.

"The ministry has started its office with minimum staff because work has to go on. We are ensuring strict compliance of rules like social distancing, wearing masks and temperature checks," Rijjiju said.

The SAI office was shut down on March 21 as part of precautionary measures to contain the virus.

All ministers were on Saturday asked to resume office from Monday along with joint secretary-level officers and one-third of their essential staff.

"Only divisional heads and 30 per cent of the lower division staff will work on a rotational basis. This is being done as per the centre's order in an effort to streamline things before the complete lifting of the lockdown," a SAI official told PTI referring to the current lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in China, has caused more than 300 deaths in India.

It has ravaged the world, killing over 100,000 people and putting tremendous strain on medical resources with more than 18,50,000 positive cases.