NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared a corononavirus epidemic in Delhi shortly after he met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday to discuss the emergent situation. With the disease being declared an ‘epidemic,’ all schools, colleges, cinema halls were closed till month end to contain the spread of the virus. In addition, public spaces, government and private office premises, malls, and shops, were notified to disinfect their premises regularly.
“Delhi government has declared Coronavirus an epidemic. We need to exercise abundant caution to contain the disease. All cinema halls, schools, colleges in Delhi will be shut till March 31, but exams will continue as scheduled. The Delhi government is fully prepared to handle the Corona crisis,” Kejriwal said after the review meeting.
Baijal orders setting up of isolation areas
Baijal ordered all in-charges of 11 revenue districts to set up quarantine facilities even as Delhi health Minister Jain also wrote to union health minister Harsh Vardhan to increase and strengthen testing facilities.
CM Kejriwal, who is heading a Special Task Force to contain the spread of the deadly virus, said the government is also arranging Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board flats which have remained unoccupied for long, besides rooms in under-construction hospitals of the Delhi government in order to accommodate cases, if required. He said, more than 500 beds are ready to be installed in the Delhi government hospitals.
The AAP government has launched an intensive public awareness campaign and sensitization drive, covering vulnerable areas like markets, JJ clusters, unauthorised colonies, ISBTs, railway and metro stations. The government has already ordered to disinfect DTC, cluster buses, besides Delhi Metro on a regular basis.
Delhi government writes to Centre for more labs
The Delhi government on Thursday requested the Centre to increase the number of testing laboratories for
COVID-19 in the national capital as the city reported its sixth case of coronavirus. Health Minister
Satyendra Jain wrote to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan requesting him to increase the number of testing labs in the city