india

Updated: Mar 14, 2020 09:08 IST

The Rajasthan government on Saturday ordered educational institutions, coaching centers, gyms and cinema halls to remain shut till March 30 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“Schools, colleges, coaching centers, gyms, and cinema halls in the state to remain closed till 30th March, as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus pandemic. Board examinations that are underway will be held as per schedule,” the Rajasthan chief minister’s office said in a tweet.

Earlier this week, an 85-year-old man who returned from Dubai to Jaipur on February 28 tested positive for coronavirus to become the first resident of the state to be infected with the virus.

In the beginning of the month, an Italian couple tested positive for the virus in Jaipur. They were part of a large group of Italian tourists, 14 of whom later tested positive in Delhi.

Rajasthan’s decision to shut down school, colleges and malls came barely 24 hours after Karnataka ordered malls, pubs and nightclubs to shut down for a week. Schools and cinema halls had already been ordered to close down.

Coronavirus has so far claimed two lives in India. The first casualty was a 76-year-old man from Kalaburgi in Karnataka who died of Covid-19 on Thursday. The second fatality was on Friday when a 68-year-old woman died at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

The Union government on Wednesday announced the suspension of all visas for entering India till April 15 as part of the measures to stave off the coronavirus threat.

The government also suspended cross-border buses and trains from Bangladesh till further notice to check the spread of coronavirus through land immigration checkposts.