Business centers and co-working space companies are getting relief after a long wait. These companies will not be sealed after getting infection, there will be exemption to open office after 12 hours of sanitizing the building. Business centers and co-working space provide office space on rent to various companies. These kind of workspaces are becoming very popular among the large and even medium-sized businesses for their affordable infrastructure and business opportunities.
The Central Government is saying that if the COVID-19 transition case is confirmed in the office that reopens after the lockdown, then the office will not be completely sealed. This decision to restart commercial operations has been taken by the central government with the protocol. A lock-down is maintained across the country until 3 May, after which every office is locked.
When an infected coronavirus has been detected in the workplace, no containment area can be sealed or declared in the office building. The whole region should, however, be sanitized if problems arise. The district Magistrate operates according to the recommendations of health professionals. But the building is not sealed for three months. Prevention and other initiatives such as pool monitoring are now under consideration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Council for Medical Research.
Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) President K.K. Srinath Reddy said that we are looking at the availability of antigen kits so that we can do pool testing. An official said, “The Technical Committee on COVID-19 at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare suggested that a coronary-infected workplace should not be sealed for long periods of time, but that it should be sanitized at the infected office and used after 12 hours.”
It has also been said that employees going to office after locking will have to pay special attention to social distances. Cleanliness will also need to be taken care of. If the employee feels ill during work, he or she should immediately leave the workplace by informing his or her reporting officer. According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Health, employees between 55 and 60 years of age, pregnant women have been advised to work from home. The company should also ensure that the employees’ phone has the Arogya Setu app and, if not, encourage them to download the app.
The need for a cost-effective and economically viable office space solution has given rise to the concept of shared office spaces or more commonly referred to as co-working spaces. This phenomenon allowed these small businesses to lease only as much space as they needed at prominent locations in the CBD. In addition, the shared space offered businesses the flexibility to reduce or expand their space requirements without worrying about space. The flexibility advantage attracted the attention of larger companies, as well as those that wanted to improve their operating efficiency.
India has around 500 to 600 co-working spaces, compared to around 21,000 spaces around the world, managed by around 230 operators. Mumbai, Bengaluru and NCR (National Capital Region) are the major co-working hubs in India.
