COVID-19: Uttarakhand shuts all schools, colleges, theaters till 31 March

The Uttarakhand government has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak as an epidemic.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Uttarakhand implements Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulation Act - 2020
• All schools, colleges, and theaters will be closed till 31 March 2020
• So far, the state has reported no confirmed case of the novel coronavirus

 

 

Declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak as an epidemic, the Uttarakhand government has decided to implement the Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulation Act - 2020. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state council of ministers in Dehradun on Saturday.

Except medical colleges, all other colleges, technical institutes, schools, and theaters will be closed till 31 March 2020, Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat tweeted via his official Twitter handle.

हमारी सरकार ने कोरोना वायरस की रोकथाम हेतु बड़ा कदम उठाते हुए इस रोग को महामारी घोषित कर उत्तराखण्ड एपिडेमिक डिजीज कोविड-19 रेग्यूलेशन एक्ट - 2020 को लागू करने का निर्णय लिया है। इस ऐक्ट के अंतर्गत सरकार के पास कोरोना वायरस की रोकथाम के लिए सभी प्रकार के अधिकार होंगे

— Trivendra Singh Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) March 14, 2020

Under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, the Centre has authorized state governments to take preventive measures to control the spread of coronavirus, state government spokesperson and Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik said. The state government has the authority under the Act to close any school, college or theatre in case it feels they may pose a threat to public health, he said.

So far, the state has reported no confirmed case of the disease. However, a 26-year-old IIT-Roorkee student with suspected symptoms of coronavirus was admitted to an isolation ward of a hospital in Haridwar on Saturday. The M.Tech student had returned from Japan on March 3.

(With inputs from agencies.)