WEB DESK
Coronavirus Crisis: The Delhi Government today decided to shut all schools, colleges and cinema halls in the city till March 31 as part of steps to stop the spread of Coronavirus.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters that schools and colleges where exams are not being held will also remain closed. Primary schools have already been shut in the national capital.
The Delhi government has declared Coronavirus an epidemic. The total number of cases across India touched 74 with new several people testing positive in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. While Maharashtra registered 12 cases, 10 were reported from Uttar Pradesh. The central government has imposed restrictions on entry into India as all the visas have been suspended barring few exceptions. The latest changes in provision will affect people wanting to travel to India except for diplomats, UN or international organizations’ employees, people coming for employment or projects. The provision will come into effect from March 13, 2020, at 5:30 AM Indian Standard Time.
The government has put a hold on visa-free travel for Overseas citizenship of India cardholders till April 15. However, the government has allowed the option of consulting their nearest Indian mission to those who have a compelling reason to travel to India. The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan has urged all Indians to refrain from travelling to another country for any non-essential businesses.
The government has mandated a quarantine period of a minimum of 14 days for all Indian travellers coming back with a travel history to China, Republic of Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany. The government has also restricted the entry into the country through land borders and the foreigners or Indians coming back will be allowed to enter via specified-only points of entry. Earlier on Tuesday, India had extended the visa suspension for the citizens for Spain, France, and Germany after they had suspended the visa for the people of China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Iran.
The series of decisions have been taken by the government of India as the number of Coronavirus cases has jumped to 60 on Wednesday. The decisions were taken after a meeting chaired by the Union Health Minister that also featured the senior ministers such as Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar.
Out of 73 confirmed cases in India so far, most of the affected people are Indians and 14 are Italian nationals. Kerala has the maximum number of Covid-19 cases at 17. According to reports, Mainland China’s total number of coronavirus deaths reaches 3,169 the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases hits 80,793 as of end-March 11.