More on Covid-19

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government on Tuesday banned all gatherings at public places exceeding 50 people till March 31 to fight the coronavirus outbreak, said an official statement.The ban was imposed as per directions of chief minister Ashok Gehlot who decided to resort to the precautionary measure after a high-level meeting on late Monday night to take stock of the situation, the statement added.The ban will be in force till March 31 after which the situation will be reviewed and appropriate decision taken, it added.Prevention of infection is the best protection against the disease, the statement quoted Gehlot as saying after the meeting.The chief minister also called for large-scale public awareness campaigns to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.He said the state government is constantly monitoring the situation and is taking all precautionary steps to keep it under control.He said the government has decided to ban gatherings of people in all tourist spots, museums, historical buildings, forts, public fairs, animal hats, parks, sports grounds and other public places in the state.At the meeting, the officials apprised the chief minister of the situation at present, as per which COVID-19 spread is under control at present and continuous steps are being taken to prevent it.Those present in the meeting included Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma, minister of state for medical and health Subhash Garg , chief secretary D B Gupta, additional chief secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary (Medical Education) Vaibhav Galaria and other officials.