Keeping in view the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Chandigarh Administration on Friday ordered to shutdown all the Government and private schools in the union territory till March 31.
Also, the Administration has approved the notification under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 under Section 2, 3 and 4 to enforce the preventive steps for control of COVID 19.
The notification empowers the Administration to inspect any suspected person travelling or otherwise, and the segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
It was issued after Punjab Governor and UT Administration VP Singh Badnore reviewed the preparedness for the Coronavirus in a high-level meeting held with the Health Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and union territory of Chandigarh along with UT Deputy Commissioner, Director PGIMER Dr Jagat Ram, GMCH-32 Director Dr BS Chavan among other senior officers.
Apart from the notification, another order issued by Chandigarh Administration on Friday stated, “As a precautionary measure and in the interest of health and safety of students, it has been decided that all the Government and private (aided and un-aided) schools of Chandigarh shall remain closed till March 31. The order will come into force with immediate effect.”
The students will be allowed to attend the school only to appear in the Board examination, annual examination and assessment examination etc during March as per the schedule, the order said.
Also, all teaching and non-teaching staff members will attend the school as usual till further orders. Parents are also advised to instruct their wards to avoid any large gathering or crowds during this period. Students may also be advised to follow the school advisory or guidelines issued from time to time by the Union Ministry of Health regarding Coronavirus, the UT’s order further stated.
“After reviewing the situation in Chandigarh, the Administration has decided to shut down the Government and private schools as a precautionary measure. Classes have been suspended but the students will be allowed to appear in the ongoing examinations,” UT Home Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta while talking to The Pioneer.
On closing down of other educational institutions and places of gatherings, the Home Secretary said that no decision has been taken on shutting down the Colleges, Universities and Cinema halls in the city.
No positive case of Coronavirus has been reported in Chandigarh till Friday evening. The situation in the city is under control and people do need not to panic but take precautionary measures, he added.
The Administration has also made an appeal to all the residents to avoid mass gatherings.
The Punjab Raj Bhawan has suspended the upcoming outside engagements as a precautionary measure.
To deal with any eventuality, the Administration has identified Infosys Sarai adjoining PGIMER with a provision of 262 beds for quarantine of patients especially for asymptomatic patients travelling from the COVID- 19 affected countries.
Apart from this, the residents have been provided with a helpline no 9779558282 on 24X7 for any type of queries related to COVID – 19 and a dedicated Ambulance is available 24X7 for shifting and screening of patients thereof.
Three teams of SDMs along with the area DSP and Drug Inspectors have also been constituted to ensure that there is no hoarding of any medicines, masks, sanitizer etc.
A day before, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) had decided to sanitize its buses as a precautionary measure. The Administration is also putting up posters related to Do’s and Don’ts on Coronavirus in the buses for public awareness.
The CTU has a fleet of 533 buses operating from four depots and as many as two lakh commuters use CTU buses every day.
SUSPECTED CORONAVIRUS CASE OF DOCTOR REPORTED IN PGIMER
A junior resident doctor from Department of Virology, PGIMER has been kept in Communicable Disease (CD) ward under suspicion of COVID-19, said a spokesperson of PGIMER on Friday.
The doctor has a history of visiting Kerala, which has so far witnessed highest number of cases of Coronavirus patients.
Giving details of the doctor, the spokesperson said that she has been suffering from fever and cough from last three days. Sampling has been done and her reports are awaited, the spokesperson added.
The PGIMER had on March 7 started the testing of COVID-19 itself. Currently, 142 travelers are under home surveillance in Chandigarh.
All suspected cases of Coronavirus admitted to the PGIMER has been tested negative till Friday evening.
A day before, the PGIMER had decided to cancel all its national and international conferences as a preventive measure to contain the spread of Coronavirus.