Coronavirus: Delhi cinema halls, schools, colleges to remain shut until 31 March

Schools, colleges and cinema halls in Delhi were ordered shut until 31 March to prevent the spread of Covid-19, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said after a review meeting with lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal and state government officials on Thursday.

The state government has also declared the spread of the novel coronavirus as an epidemic in the national capital, invoking provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, which gives the state powers to take special measures to tackle epidemics.

“The Delhi government is prepared to tackle the situation. Some decisions taken today include that all cinema halls will be shut until 31 March. All schools and colleges except where exams are being held will be shut until 31 March,” Kejriwal told reporters after the meeting, which was also attended by Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain, municipal commissioners and other officials.

Covid-19 has so far affected more than 127,000 people worldwide. The number of people who tested positive for the disease in India went up to 78 on Thursday, including six in Delhi. Neighbouring Haryana also declared the disease as an epidemic on Thursday.

As part of measures to prevent the spread of the disease, all public spaces will have to be disinfected daily.

“I appeal to everyone that this is being done to tackle this disease and we need public support. There has been a lot of public support so far to contain this,” Kejriwal added.

The Delhi government has also set up a task force to monitor the spread of the virus. It has already announced that public transport will be disinfected on a daily basis.

He said the Delhi urban shelter improvement board is making arrangements for quarantine beds to be put up in unused houses. The government is also preparing under-construction hospitals to increase the number of beds in the city-state. More than 500 hospital beds are ready to admit patients, Kejriwal said.

A spokesperson of INOX Leisure Ltd, a film exhibition chain, said that the company will follow the advisory but it has not received a directive. According to industry estimates, there are 56 cinemas in Delhi, 17 of which are multiplexes.

Lata Jha contributed to this story.