Of the five patients, three belong to the Drug Control Department and two belong to ECIC, which deals with couriers.
The Air Cargo Complex is spread over 1,20,000 square feet
The Coronavirus has invaded the Air Cargo Complex (ACC) in Andheri with five employees from two different departments testing positive. The complex cannot be sealed and declared a Containment Zone as imported essential products, especially PPE kits and medicines, are arriving in cargo planes.
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Of the five patients, three belong to the Drug Control Department and two belong to ECIC, which deals with couriers.
While the area has been fumigated and sanitised and the positive employees home-quarantined, workers' unions are not satisfied and have said that shutting down the complex and limiting operations would be better. A rift between the workers' union and the Customs can affect cargo operations. "The area has not been sealed by the K East ward. It is functioning as per usual with some sanitation measures. Many workers did not report to work on Monday. In a meeting with GVK, we had suggested fumigation of the complex," said a trade union member. "We have also requested that the supply of non-essential items from ACC be stopped," the union member said.
BMC issues guidelines
"We received a letter from the Airport Authority of India saying that medicines and other life-saving equipment are being imported to Mumbai and as such cargo operations cannot be closed. We have sanitised the cargo complex and issued guidelines to officials," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Prashant Sapkale. "During a visit a week ago by a health officer, it was found that the offices do not have cross ventilation. They have been told to correct that," Sapkale said.
The Commissioner of Customs has sought a report about the infected employees, elaborating on how this could affect operations.
A senior customs officer told mid-day, "We received all BMC clearances after fumigating and sanitising the area. Officers who came in contact with the positive cases have been home-quarantined."
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