First death reported in HAL due to COVID-19

• HAL employees working in staggered shifts, have suspended biometric attendance as a precautionary measure

• The current tally of positive cases in HAL stands at 12, one death, all precautions being observed at the headquarters

Bengaluru: The current status of coronavirus positive employees at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru stands at 12, HAL spokesperson Gopal Sutar has confirmed. One of the employees who was suffering from infection died on Wednesday. "Twelve HAL employees have tested positive, one employee died due to COVID-19," HAL spokesperson Gopal Sutar said. "The 45-year-old employee had underlying health conditions and was admitted to the HAL Hospital. He was tested positive after an autopsy was performed and samples were sent for testing," Sutar added.

Speaking about the precautionary measures being observed at the HAL Bengaluru office Gopal Sutar said "HAL is taking all steps to ensure all protocols related to COVID 19 are followed as per updated MHA guidelines. HAL hospital is well equipped with beds reserved for patients showing COVID symptoms. Also, measures are being taken to ensure social distancing, compulsory wearing of masks, complete and frequent sanitisation of entire working areas, temperature monitoring of everyone who enters".

All facilities at the defence PSU were shut down during the lockdown period March 22 onwards. It was only on April 28, when the government declared their services as essential, the office premises were reopened.

"We work in staggered shifts, have suspended biometric attendance and sanitization of all work areas in between and during the shifts are done frequently. HAL has introduced an IT platform for agile video conferencing and online applications (e-filing) to minimise the physical interaction as well," the spokesperson said.

Apart from the HAL employees, police personnel at the HAL Police Station have also been tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week. A total of seven police staff including an inspector, one sub-inspector, four head constables, and a woman constable at the HAL Police Station have been tested positive.

"We work in staggered shifts, have suspended biometric attendance and sanitization of all work areas in between and during the shifts are done frequently. HAL has introduced an IT platform for agile video conferencing and online applications (e-filing) to minimise the physical interaction as well,"- Gopal Sutar, HAL Spokesperson

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