NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government on Wednesday clarified that no coronavirus "emergency" has been declared in the state and that all the schools and offices will remain open.Earlier, there were fake reports that Karnataka has declared "coronavirus as an epidemic" in the state.In a statement, Karnataka health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey refuted the reports doing rounds on social media which said Karnataka had declared COVID-19 as a "state epidemic".Refuting the rumours, he added that all the schools, offices and other institutions will continue to function normally in the state.The Karnataka government earlier today issued temporary regulation which asked all government and private hospitals to have flu corners for screening of suspected cases of COVID-19.According to the regulation, no person/institution shall use print or electronic media to spread mis-information on COVID-19 without prior permission of the department of health & family welfare. If a person is found indulging in any such activity, they will be punished, it said.The Karnataka government also started a campaign called 'Namaste over Handshake' that encourages people to greet in the traditional Indian style, to tackle the spread of the virus.The state has reported four positive cases of coronavirus so far.India, so far, has 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 16 Italians tourists.