Coronavirus: Haryana bans gatherings; gyms, theatres, clubs shut

The Haryana government on Sunday ordered the closure of all the government as well as private schools and banned public gatherings—political as well as social—till

The Haryana government on Sunday ordered the closure of all the government as well as private schools and banned public gatherings—political as well as social—till March 31 as the state bordering the national Capital further took a slew of steps to fight the spread of the Coronavirus infection (Covid-19) outbreak.

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Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar along with health minister Anil Vij reviewed the preparations of the health department to check the spread of the Coronavirus and decided that cinema halls, gyms, swimming pools, clubs and night clubs will also remain closed till March 31.

Later in the evening, Khattar also tweeted that the state government has banned gathering of more than 200 people in functions such as political, religious, social, cultural, sports, personal or family events across the state till March 31, a government spokesperson said. “We have also decided to set up 100 isolation beds in every district and more than that in cities neighbouring New Delhi,” he stated in the tweet.

The Gurugram district administration, when asked about the matter said that these directions will be implemented in letter and spirit. “All necessary measures will be taken to prevent the spread of Coronavirus,” said the government spokesperson.

While the schools will remain closed during this period, examinations in the schools will continue to be held as per the schedule.

“The students will attend the school only to take the board exams, annual exams and assessment exams as per the previous schedule. However, all teaching and non-teaching staff will attend the school as usual,” Dr Mahavir Singh, Principal Secretary (education), said.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission also cancelled the online written examination of assistant lineman and various other posts of the skill development and industrial training department “due to administrative reasons and also keeping in view the spread of Coronavirus.”

The chief minister directed that 2,500 to 3,000 beds (minimum 100 in each district) should be identified in the Isolation Wards set up in the government hospitals of the State. The number of these beds, Khattar said, could be increased in cities like Gurugram, Rohtak and Jhajjar.

At present 1,328 beds have been identified in 298 isolation wards in government hospitals and district-wise arrangement of quarantine facility has been made for 3,000 people.

Health Minister Anil Vij said that the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy (Ayush) will organise 100 camps in the state from Monday, wherein medicines would be distributed to the people free of cost to enhance their immune systems.

The government has decided that sanitisers will be installed in those government offices where people in large number visit for their day-to-day work.

All the chief medical officers have been directed to ensure the installation of sanitisers in district offices in consultation with the deputy commissioners concerned.

Notably, no Haryana citizen has tested positive for Coronavirus. The sample of a 29-year-old woman from Gurugram, who returned from Malaysia and fell sick, have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, a senior health official from Gurugram said on Sunday.