UP govt declares coronavirus 'contagious epidemic', orders all schools, colleges to remain shut till March 22

Amidst the Coronavirus outbreak in India, recording a total of 75 positive cases, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday declared COVID-19 a 'contagious epidemic' and ordered all educational institutions in the state to remain closed till March 22, to prevent the spread of the infection.

"All schools, colleges, technical and vocational education institutes will remain closed till March 22. We will review the situation on March 22 and will make a decision whether to extend it or not," Yogi Adityanath said.

"The ongoing examinations will continue but the examinations which have not commenced yet have been postponed," he added.

"A total of 11 people have tested positive for Coronavirus; seven are from Agra, two from Ghaziabad and one each from Noida and Lucknow," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtyanath said.

He said that 11 positive cases of Coronavirus have been found in the state: seven are from Agra, two from Ghaziabad and one each from Noida and Lucknow.

Out of the 11 cases recorded in the state, 10 are being treated in Delhi while one is in Lucknow's King George's Medical University (KGMU). 

Moreover, he said that the state government had been taking all necessary measures to deal with the outbreak, adding that every district in the state has an isolation ward with 820 beds.

Meanwhile, the Odisha state legislative assembly was suspended till March 29 on Friday after the Novel Coronavirus pandemic was declared a 'disaster' in the state under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, that categorised COVID-19 as such.

All schools, colleges, other educational institutions, as well as cinema theatres have been ordered to remain closed till March 31 and an amount of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked to augment the Public Health Response Fund for dealing with the threat of the virus outbreak.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across India is 75, with one death. Among the number of positive cases of coronavirus infection, 58 are Indian nationals, while 17 are foreign nationals. An approximate number of 11,14,025 people have been screened at airports across the country.

The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has crossed 4,600 and more than 125,000 people in 118 countries have been infected around the world.