Metro trains, buses to be disinfected daily, says Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that his government has ordered public buses in the city, Metro trains and hospitals to be disinfected every day as a precautionary measure to deal with the spread of novel coronavirus.
In Delhi, there are four confirmed cases so far, one of which is still to be cleared by the National Institute of Viorology, Pune. Of these, the first three cases have generated as many as 105, 168 and 64 contacts respectively – all of them have to be screened now, said the chief minister. All these cases and those who turn out to be suspected positive cases after screening have to be quarantined for at least 14 days. “For that, we appeal to all employers in Delhi to sanction paid leave to such employees for the quarantine period,” said Kejriwal.
With an aim to contain the further spread of coronavirus cases in India, the central government on Tuesday had decided to cancel all Visas and e-Visas that had been granted to people from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan on or before March 3. On February 2, India had temporarily suspended Visa and e-Visa facilities for Chinese nationals and foreigners residing in China.The ban is applicable those who had yet not entered India.
On Sunday, Kejriwal said that he would request Union health minister Harsh Vardhan to also ban travel to these coronavirus affected countries.
The chief minister said, “We have learnt about shortage of anti-pollution masks and hand sanitisers in the market. But, one needs to know that people who have no symptoms of a flu, cold, cough or fever, do not need to wear masks. As far as cleaning hands is concerned, one can do that with regular soap wash.”
When told about alleged incidents of hoarding of sanitisers and anti-pollution masks, Kejriwal said that the government would take action on complaints against such cases. He added that 168 isolation beds had been set up at 25 hospitals for coronavirus patients.
FULL COMPENSATION DISBURSAL
The Delhi government on Sunday started disbursing full compensation to the victims of north-east Delhi communal violence that claimed at least 53 and left hundreds injured and homeless.
Till Sunday evening, the government said in a statement, compensation amounting to around ₹4.45 crore had been disbursed, which includes full compensation of ₹10 lakh each to families of around 35 dead persons.