COVID-19 Extending its Footprint
After the shutdowns in China, Italy, and other countries, India is also nearing a shutdown. Until the last reports, the death toll in India crossed 160. This has made the authorities impose bans. The government of India has announced bans on arrival from destinations including The European Union, Malaysia, Philippines, and Afghanistan. Different state governments are taking the precautionary measures on their part. However, closure of all educational institutes including schools, colleges and universities, swimming pools, theatres across the country is common.
Taj Mahal and other Monuments closed
The Taj Mahal in the Northern city of Agra, a site which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every day, has been shut down until 31 March. “The Archeological survey of India has closed 3000 monuments and 200 museums in the wake of increasing cases of coronavirus,” said Culture Minister Prahlad Patel. Last week, India practically suspended all Visas, except for diplomats and those taking up employment, till 15 April to slow the spread of the disease. Additionally, the Indian Premier League, featuring nearly 60 foreign players in the world’s lucrative cricket tournament, has also been postponed to 15 April.
Setting up Additional Laboratories
The Indian Council of Medical Research recently said that the country is still at stage 2 of the virus and assured the public that an additional 49 laboratories in the government sector will be setup by the end of the week. “We already know that we are in stage 2. We are not in stage 3 and we are expanding our number of laboratories. Today, we have 72 functional laboratories in the system,” said Dr. Balram Bhargava, the Director General of ICMR. He also urged private labs to provide tests for the virus and random testing is not currently planned.
