| Coronavirus: After educational institutes; parks, gardens closed | | |  Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 16: After shutting all educational institutes, stadiums and sports clubs last week, the UT authorities on Monday ordered closure of parks and gardens till further notice in this summer capital amid coronavirus scare.
However, so far no person has been tested positive for Coronavirus in Kashmir valley, including Srinagar, where authorities have made elaborate measure, including sterilization driver launched by SMC in all public places, to prevent the spread of the disease.
‘’All Parks and Gardens in #Srinagar will remain closed till further notice. Cooperation of people in implementing precautionary measures is appreciated’’, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, said.
All parks and gardens, including famous Mughal gardens on the bank of Dal Lake, were sealed and tourists, besides locals were not allowed to go inside.
Meanwhile, Srinagar Major Junaid Azim Mattu said all Municipal and Floriculture Parks in SMC limits are being sealed for sterilization. “Pratap Park in city center has been sealed this morning. We are going to sterilize it. Request everyone to cooperate and try and stay away from all public parks for the time being,” he added.
An official said that 2157 travellers and persons in contact with the suspected Coronavirus cases have been put under surveillance in Jammu and Kashmir. “1829 persons are under home quarantine and 29 persons are in hospital quarantine while 131 persons are under home surveillance,” he said.
He said that 101 samples have been sent for testing, of which 87 tested as negative and only two cases have tested positive, so far. “The positive cases are from Jammu region. Reports of 12 cases are awaited. Meanwhile, 168 persons have completed their 28 days surveillance period,” he said.
He said home quarantined persons and their family members are requested to cooperate with the local surveillance teams / health authorities and strictly follow the guidelines for home quarantine issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI.
He said public in general has been requested to strengthen surveillance mechanism by making self-declaration about their foreign travel history to local health authorities. “Moreover all social, religious and political organizations are urged to avoid large gatherings,” he said.
He said medical masks should not be used by healthy persons who are not having any symptoms because it creates false sense of security that can lead to neglecting other essential measures such as washing of hands. “In fact erroneous use of masks or continuous use of a disposable mask for longer than 6 hours or repeated use of same mask may actually increase risk of getting infection,” he added.
Stressing on the social distancing, he urged people not to panic and avoid un-necessary travel, use of public transport; avoid crowded places and large gatherings. “People must take basic precautions for personal hygiene; frequent hand washing with soap & water; and observing coughing & sneezing etiquettes. If anyone has fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical care at the earliest,” he said.
Director National Health Mission (NHM), Bhupinder Kumar on March 11 said that all education institutes will be closed till March 31 following the emerging situation due to COVID-19 in J&K.
Kashmir University and Islamic university of Sciences and Technology (IUST) have also suspended class work from March 12 till March 31 in view of coronavirus scare.
All private and government schools were deserted in the summer capital, Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir valley with only non-teaching and teaching staff present in these institutions. Most coaching and tuition centres were also closed through some remained open despite strict order by the authorities. |
|
