Selected locations on the sprawling campus of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here were disinfected on Saturday after an employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
VSSC officials had identified and cordoned off areas exposed to the person, employed as a technician, after the news broke that he had tested positive. This included the air-conditioning section where he worked, a number of laboratories, and the main gate at Veli.
From Manacaud
The employee, a 41-year-old man hailing from Manacaud here, had last reported for duty on June 15. In all, 13 VSSC personnel suspected of having come into contact with him were advised to go into quarantine on Friday itself. This includes five permanent employees and eight contract personnel. Details of the personnel have been handed over to the State government, the VSSC said.
The three Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facilities in Thiruvananthapuram — the others being the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) and the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) — had enforced strict precautions within the campuses, given the COVID-19 situation in the State. They are still in force, ISRO officials said.
At T.N. centre
The ISRO units were put on heightened vigil after the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, had to be closed for a day for disinfection after an engineer tested positive last Monday. Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, such as thermal screening and hand sanitising at entry gates, are already in place in the VSSC, a spokesperson said. Wearing of face masks and physical distancing in all places including the canteen and at meetings are adhered to strictly, the spokesperson said. ISRO facilities here had remained shut for nearly two months from March 23 in view of the pandemic. Work was resumed on a limited scale only in late May.
