Coronavirus declared as epidemic by Uttarakhand Govt

Dehradun : State cabinet minister Madan Kaushik on Saturday said that coronavirus is declared as an epidemic in the state and all Cinema halls and colleges will remain closed in the state till March 31. Medical colleges, however, will remain open.

"State Government has declared coronavirus as an epidemic in the state. All Cinema halls and colleges will remain closed in the state till 31st March in view of coronavirus. Medical colleges, however, will remain open," Kaushik was quoted as saying in a press statement.

"The state government has decided to implement the Uttarakhand Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulation Act - 2020. Under the act, the government will have all kinds of rights for the prevention of coronavirus. All the gatherings are suspended. In violation of rules, a provision of imprisonment from 1 month to 6 months has been made under Section 188 of IPC. Private buildings will also be used like hospitals when needed. Advisory has been issued to all hotels to cancel till 31 March," the statement added.

Commenting upon the preparedness of the state to deal with coronavirus outbreak, Kaushik said: "The state has adequate resources and equipment to prevent coronavirus. Recruitment of vacant nursing staff will be allowed in the Health Department. A fund of Rs 50 crore has been prepared for Isolation Ward, ICU Preparation, Equipment, Medicine etc. In the future, a 100 beds hospital will be built. 140 departmental ambulances have been placed on alert to deal with emergencies. Corporations and the private operators will make arrangements for sanitization in buses. 104 helpline number has been started."

In the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak, Secretary of the state government has written a letter to Director, women and Child Development of the state government to close all Anganwadi and Mini Anganwadi centers with immediate effect till March 31.

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In all 84 positive cases of coronavirus has been reported so far from across the country, Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said on Saturday.

So far, two deaths due to the lethal infection have been reported in the country.

The coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,20,000 people.

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