DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand cabinet on Saturday declared the coronavirus as an epidemic. The decision of allocating Rs 50 Crore for creation of more intensive care units and isolation wards to battle the outbreak was also taken in the cabinet meeting.
Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the government after the meeting said, "The decision has been taken to ensure that no one loses life in our state. We have every arrangement to deal with situation."
The order for closure of colleges and cinema halls in the state till March 31 has also been issued.
The officials from the state health department said that if anyone tests positive and the number of cases rise in the hill state, the department has chalked out a plan to build a temporary hospital of 100 beds like China to control the outbreak.
So far, no one has been tested positive with the virus in Uttarakhand yet.
The decision comes after centre's announcement earlier in the day declaring the fatal infection a disaster and announcing Rs 4 lakh compensation for families of the people who died due to the infection.
Earlier, on Thursday, the state government had ordered the closure of all schools, government and privately run till March 31, 2020. As a precautionary move, biometric attendance has already been suspended in all state government departments and schools to check the infection from spreading.
In another cautious step, state government has suspended all the trade activities with China to avoid proximity with country from where the virus is said to have originated.