Zee Media says 28 staffers test positive for Covid-19, studio sealed

Zee Media said on Monday that 28 employees have tested positive for Covid-19 and its office, newsroom and studios here have been sealed.

"The global pandemic has now become a personal story for Zee Media. Last Friday, one of our colleagues tested positive for Covid-19. As a responsible organisation, we initiated mass testing of all those who could have been in direct or indirect contact with the said individual," Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, Zee News said in a statement.

"So far 28 of our team mates have tested positive. Fortunately, most of them are asymptomatic and not complaining of any discomfort. We believe this is because of early diagnosis and pro-active intervention," the statement said.

"We are following the best practices to break the cycle and contain the infection, in coordiation with all government and health authorities. All health protocols and official guidelines are being followed," Chaudhary announced.

"Our office, newsroom and studios have been sealed for sanitisation. The Zee News team has been shifted to an alternative facility for the time being," he said.

The testing of the rest of the employees will continue. The ICMR too has relaxed its testing norms to allow it to test asymptomatic individuals who might be Covid-19 positive and carriers of the disease.

"This might lead to a greater number of Covid-19 cases being identified, isolated and treated. We believe this is the best way to fight the pandemic," Chaudhary said.

Since Noida has lot of containment zones, aggressive testing, isolation and treatment is the only way to ensure the safety of teammates, he added.

At the moment, Zee Media Corporation Ltd has 2,500 employees, by far the largest in the private sector. "We are committed to the safety of each one of them," the statement said.

"These are challenging times but Covid-19 has not been able to shake the morale of the team. Zee Media is raring to go, as always. We assure our viewers that our fearless coverage will continue. Such challenges will not be able break our resolve to discharge our duties with utmost sincerity and unmatched passion. We wish all our employees a speedy recovery," Zee Media announced.