Amid coronavirus threat, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has ordered shutting down for a week of all places/activities where people gather in large number including swimming pools, shopping malls, schools, colleges, cinema halls etc, state Health Minister B Sriramulu said.
This comes after Yediyurappa chaired an emergency meeting with ministers and senior officials on Friday to discuss the situation.
Earlier, schools in the state had announced early summer vacation for their students this academic year as a precautionary measure. Other public places have been shut down in the state amid the Covid-19 scare.
The shut down in Karnataka comes after various other state governments ordered similar steps. Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir etc. are some of the states where governments have ordered shut down as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The central government has also taken several steps to contain the virus, including suspension of all visas to India till April 15. Till date, India has reported two deaths and 82 confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year has spread to more than 100 countries worldwide, infecting over 1,30,000 people.