Banks nudge employees for RT-PCR tests every 2 weeks

As the Government is yet to prioritize bankers for COVID-19 vaccination, lenders are advising employees to undergo RT-PCR tests every 15 days.

An e-mail received by employees of a private sector bank read, “As per the Government of Maharashtra circular dated 05 April 2021, in all RBI-regulated entities, officials attending office must be COVID-19 vaccinated or carrying negative RT-PCR report not older than 15 days otherwise a penalty of Rs. 1,000/- will be levied per individual with effect from 10 April 2021. This will be applicable for all our offices and branches in Maharashtra.”

The bank cited above-informed employees that those eligible under the current rules should get inoculated at the earliest, while others will have to undergo RT-PCR tests every 15 days. The bank has said it will reimburse the charges of such tests.

The difficulty in getting a slot for RT-PCR test in Mumbai and suburbs compounds their problems. The document said that the state level bankers’ committee is initiating steps to get bank employees listed as frontline workers to become eligible for vaccination.