Rail Bhavan shuts down for second time in fortnight after another COVID-19 case

New Delhi: An employee of the Rail Bhavan here tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday, leading to the closure of all offices of the Railways Ministry for the next two days, the second time in less than a fortnight.

A fourth-grade multitasking staffer who attended office till last Tuesday is the fifth COVID-19 case detected in the building in less than two weeks. Nine of his contacts at Rail Bhavan have been sent to home quarantine, officials said.

"Some Officials of Railway Board have recently tested coronavirus positive. Accordingly it has been decided to close all Offices at Rail Bhavan on 26th and 27th May, 2020 to carry out intensive sanitization of rooms and common areas," said an order hours after the fifth case came to light.

Offices at fourth floor of Rail Bhavan will remain close till Friday for thorough disinfection, it said.

The incident comes close on the heels of a senior officer of the Railways testing positive for the disease on Sunday, in what was the fourth such case in less than a week at the headquarters.