31 positive cases of coronavirus have been detected in India so far | Photo Credit: PTI

Ghaziabad: Amid the rising number of cases of Novel Coronavirus, Ghaziabad district administration has decided to set up a 500-bed quarantine facility at Ala Hazrat Haj House in Arthala to combat the deadly outbreak. The total number of positive cases of coronavirus has risen to 31 in the country with the latest case coming from Delhi's Uttam Nagar.

According to Shailendra Kumar Singh, ADM, Ghaziabad City, an isolation centre with a capacity of as many as 500 beds is currently being developed at the Haj House in Ghaziabad. The facility is being fully cleaned while water and power supply is being arranged for the convenience of those who would be coming to the facility for the treatment, he added.

The facility will be functional in a week's time and the suspected patients of coronavirus will be kept there in isolation to prevent further spread of the disease. The doctors of district hospitals will be deployed at the Ghaziabad facility to treat the coronavirus suspects.

No Holi celebrations after 31 confirmed cases

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other political leaders have tweeted that they would refrain from participating in Holi celebrations and other mass gatherings. Even the Indian Armed forces have postponed their celebratory parades amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

A large number of state governments have issued advisories to public urging them to avoid large gatherings and take preventive measures. The authorities, however, have also asserted that there is no need to panic over the ongoing situation.

The government has imposed travel restriction on people from badly affected nations like South Korea, Iran and Italy while all the travellers from China and Japan are being screened at all airports across the country.

Earlier on Friday, one more person was tested positive for novel coronavirus or COVID-19, confirmed the Health Ministry. The latest patient is from Delhi's Uttam Nagar locality and he reportedly has a travel history to Malaysia and Thailand.

The Delhi government has already closed primary schools across the national capital till March 31 in the wake of the fast-spreading epidemic.