Gujarat shuts schools, malls till March 31

The Gujarat government on Sunday announced closure of all the schools, colleges, malls, theatres and swimming pools from Monday till March 31.

This comes after the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country crossed 100.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani convened a high-level meeting on Sunday and precautionary measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus were discussed.

The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far not reported any positive case.

“As a precautionary measure, the State government has decided to stop all the academic activities at schools and colleges for the next two weeks. All the malls, swimming pools and theatres will remain closed for the period,” informed Jayanti Ravi, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Government of Gujarat, after the meeting at Gandhinagar.

However, the board exams in the State will continue according to the schedule and the academic and non-academic Staff at the schools and colleges have been asked to be present.

In a major decision, the State government has also banned spitting in open and fixed a fine of ₹500 for violators. Ravi also informed that religious organisations in the State have been advised to defer any mass gatherings or religious events for next two weeks.

Per the information shared by the government, a total of 3,202 international travellers have been screened till March 14 and 1,226 travellers have completed 28-days observation period. There were 77 suspected patients till Saturday and all the samples have been tested. So far, there is no positive case, while results for five cases are pending.