India scales up protective measures
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve, India has taken various preventive measures in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, including closure of educational institutions in different states.
The number of coronavirus cases in India touched 31 on Friday, and the government announced the cancellation of large gatherings related to the official functions of the Holi festival on March 10, including those involving President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda at the party's offices across India.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal also announced that Holi should not be celebrated, citing the recent violence in north-east Delhi and coronavirus among the reasons.
On Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir government ordered all primary schools in Jammu and Samba districts to shut down till March 31 with immediate effect as the union territory braced itself for likely coronavirus infections.
On Friday, Bisva Bharati authorities at Santiniketan university in West Bengal 'postponed' the Boshonto Utsav (spring celebrations) scheduled for Holi day on March 9 to avoid large public gatherings.
Boshonto Utsav was introduced by Rabindranath Tagore at Visva Bharati, which was also founded by the nobel laureate.
The decision to cancel the festival was taken in the university's executive council meeting on Friday, a day after the University Grants Commission advised all universities and colleges across the country to avoid large gatherings as a precautionary measure.
Primary classes of all schools in Delhi will remain closed till March 31 to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Delhi government said on Thursday.
Besides, central as well as different state and local governments of the country have issued a series of protocols, including a halt to biometric-based attendance system.
The Health Ministry has on Friday advised that mass gathering should be avoided and postponed till the spread of coronavirus is contained.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus in China, India has taken a series of measures in phases to bolster its preparedness to cope with the threats posed by the disease.
Initially, the country introduced thermal screening in a limited number of international airports and then extended it to all airports a few days ago, screening all passengers from a select number of countries to begin with, and then enhancing it to cover all international air passengers coming into India, and also at sea, land and river ports across the country.
Due to the coronavirus scare, India also announced cancellation of a multi-nation joint military exercise called "Milan" and either called off or curtailed international conferences. PM Modi cancelled his scheduled visit to Brussels for the India-European Union Summit this month.
The Mughal Garden at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a popular tourist attraction in Delhi, has been closed to the public due to the scare.
On the sports front, the World Cup Shooting competition, which was set to be held in Delhi from March 15 to 25, has been postponed.
The prime minister is personally monitoring the preparedness and response on a regular basis and so is Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on a daily basis. A group of ministers was formed on February 3 to monitor the coronavirus situation, and they have met four times since.
India is also issuing travel advisories from time to time, with the first one issued on January 17. In the latest advisory, Indian citizens have been advised to refrain from travelling to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and Japan and to avoid non-essential travel to other coronavirus-affected countries. All regular visas/e-visas granted to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea, Japan issued on or before March 3 this year and to those who have not yet entered India, have been suspended with immediate effect.
National Institute of Virology in Pune is the nodal laboratory for testing swab samples of suspected patients. Testing of clinical samples has also been initiated in 15 more laboratories. Another 19 laboratories are being prepared to test samples to ensure adequate geographical spread across the country.
According to media reports, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Agra Mayor Naveen Jain has urged the Union Tourism Minister to close the iconic Taj Mahal for the time being, much to the annoyance of the tourism industry.
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