More states shut schools, colleges

Many state governments continued to shut down educational institutions and other public places in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna on Sunday said that government has decided to close all educational institutions, cinema halls, swimming pools and gyms as precautionary measure till March 29. However, board examinations will continue according to schedule.

Informing that no confirm case of coronavirus has been found in Assam so far, Mr Krishna told reporters that a core committee headed by IAS Anurag Goel has been formed to supervise the steps taken by the government to check the spread of coronavirus.

The Gujarat government on Sunday ordered the closure of educational institutions, cinema halls and swimming pools for two weeks starting Monday as part of preventivemeasures against the novel coronavirus threat, a top official said. The state has also not reported a single positive case of coronavirus as yet.

The Uttarakhand government also declared novel coronavirus an epidemic and shut all multiplexes, cinema halls, degree colleges and technical institutes across the state till March 31, official sources said.

The Haryana government also shut schools, cinema halls and clubs in the state till March 31 as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday directed closure of all kindergarten and primary schools till March 31 as it stepped up preventive measures against coronavirus.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami also issued orders for closure of cinema halls and malls where people gather in large numbers till the month end in taluks in 16 districts bordering neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka, where the number of COVID- 19 cases is on the rise, an official release said.

The Puducherry government declared holiday for all pre KG and primary schools in the Union Territory until further orders as part of precautionary steps to contain spread of coronavirus.

Mahe region, an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala has already declared holiday for the pre KG and primary schools