Here's how government plans to combat Covid-19

With new coronavirus cases being discovered in the country each day and panic among people also increasing, the government has proposed various measures to contain the spread of the disease.
 

The latest steps in the fight against the pandemic come at a time when the number of positive cases in India has reached 125, with fresh cases being reported from Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Kerala and Telangana.
 

In this edition of Business Standard podcast, we will discuss different measures taken by the government to control the outbreak.
 

On Monday, a Group of Ministers (GoM) proposed various measures, including the closure of all educational and recreational institutions across the country. The government has also barred travellers from countries in the European Union, Turkey, the UK, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia from coming to India till March 31.
 

State governments are also taking proactive measures. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have all moved closer to imposing a lockdown. Here’s is a look at the measures taken by them:
 

In Delhi, religious, social, cultural and political gatherings, as well as protests comprising more than 50 people are prohibited until March 31, with a similar case in Uttar Pradesh, where schools and colleges will remain closed until March 22.

Gyms, nightclubs, zoos and spas in the city will also remain closed this month.
 

Tamil Nadu also joined scores of states in closing down educational institutions, public events, and large gatherings. 
 

In Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray government extended the restriction to tiger safaris and asked people to avoid crowding religious sites. Even as Mumbai remained under a partial lockdown, the chief minister said he had no plans of imposing such measures in other cities of the state. The famous Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai was also closed for devotees.
 

In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar extended an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of those who died from the virus. 
 

Chhattisgarh termed the Centre’s current criteria to test coronavirus as “too restrictive” and demanded that it allow more centres to carry out tests.
 

Intensifying its measures against the virus, the GoM held its seventh meeting in the evening and proposed a set of social-distancing measures to be in force till March 31.
 

In view of this, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Aggarwal said “Non-essential travel should be avoided. Buses, trains and aeroplanes...

To know more, listen to this podcast