HYDERABAD: Could the IT industry have handled the confusion over the suspected COVID-19 cases in a better way is a question being asked by many.
The positive cases in European countries, especially in Italy, began surfacing by February 15 and by February 22, some deaths were reported.
Despite knowing these developments, the IT companies sent their employees to these countries and failed to quarantine those who returned to the city from different countries.
The IT professionals are also wondering why the employees who returned from on-site foreign trips were not asked to quarantine themselves voluntarily.
“We have learnt that several big IT companies are either stopping all international visits or are asking their employees who have returned from foreign trips to self-quarantine themselves to prevent the virus from spreading. All the companies must do the same,” noted an IT professional from Raheja Mindspace, on condition of anonymity.
For some time now, the likes of TCS and Deloitte have been cancelling a majority of their international trips and have opted for working online with their clients as usual.
This has made IT professionals wonder why other companies did not follow suit.
“We hope that the IT Department will learn from this and make a comprehensive list of those who have travelled abroad in the last two weeks,” added another executive from an IT firm.
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police have now mandated that the IT offices should plan evacuation only with their permission to avoid a panic-like situation that was witnessed on Wednesday.
