All edu institutions closed in J&K till March 31

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday ordered the closure of all educational institutions across the Union Territory till March 31 as a precautionary measure to combat the outbreak of coronavirus. Authorities have temporarily closed down cinema halls in all 10 districts of Jammu division for the same period.


“All education institutions (public and private), including schools, colleges and universities of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir to suspend teaching and classes till March 31,”

Bhupinder Kumar

, director, National Health Mission, said at a press conference in Jammu. All board and competitive examinations, however, shall be held as per preset schedule, he added.

The Union Territory, which has one positive case till now, has reported one more person as having a high viral load and samples have been sent to

National Centre for Disease Control

, New Delhi for confirmation.

Kumar urged citizens to maintain social distance, avoid unnecessary travel and use of public transport. “Social, political and religious organisations are urged to avoid large gathering and functions. We are grateful that many organizations have responded to our advice and deferred gatherings,” he said.

In J&K till Wednesday, 1,211 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases are under surveillance — 968 in home

quarantine

, 12 in hospital quarantine, 81 in home surveillance. Till now, 150 people have completed their 28-day surveillance period. Till 2 pm on Wednesday, 64 samples have been sent for testing — 28 results were negative, 1 tested positive, test reports for 35 patients are awaited.

Coronavirus lab testing facilities have been started in Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences at Soura in Srinagar and Govt Medical College in Jammu. Control rooms and surveillance teams have been constituted across all the districts of the UT to meet any sort of eventuality.

All incoming international passengers returning to Jammu and Kashmir have been advised by the official health bulletin issued on Wednesday to self-monitor their health and follow the required do’s and dont’s as detailed by the Union government. “All passengers having travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand,

Singapore

, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany are advised to undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival,” Kumar said.

Prevention is the best course of action and every person has the capacity to contribute, to protect themselves, to protect others, whether at home, in the community, workplace, healthcare system or public transport system, Kumar explained.