Schools, colleges shut till March 31 in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday declared holiday in schools and colleges till March 31 as a precautionary measure in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak in several parts of the country.

However, exams will be held as per schedule in these educational institutes.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday late evening chaired an emergency meeting of his cabinet colleagues and senior officials to review the preparedness to prevent any spread of the infection in the state, an official of the government's public relations department here said.

No confirmed coronavirus case has been reported so far in Chhattisgarh, where samples of 44 persons screened for possible exposure to the virus tested negative till Wednesday, health officials said.

During the meeting, it was decided to shut schools and colleges till March 31 in view of an advisory issued by the Government of India related to coronavirus.

However, these facilities will be open on exam days within this period, the officials said.

The chief minister directed health department officials to regularly review and



monitor the arrangements made to deal with any situation.

He directed officials to make people aware to remain vigilant and avoid attending mass programmes.

On Wednesday evening, the Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) in Raipur district suspended its classes till March 18 as a precautionary measure after a few of its students were found suffering from cough, cold and fever.

Following the development, samples of two HNLU students, one from Delhi and another from Jabalpur, were sent for examination to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, a health official said.

Besides, blood sample of a CRPF jawan posted in naxal-hit Sukma district, has also been collected for examination, he said.

With these three samples, reports of a total of nine persons suspected to have been exposed to the virus are awaited in the state till Thursday, he said.

The paramilitary jawan, whose sample was taken, returned to his duty place in Sukma on March 10 after a 30-day leave at his native place in Kerala, he said.