Chandigarh admin suspends bio-metric attendance in institutions amid COVID-19 scare

Chandigarh Administrator VP Badnore has suspended bio-metric attendance system in government/private institutions till further notice. The announcement comes after multiple cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in India.

READ: Coronavirus: Srinagar Mayor Calls For Cancellation Of Khelo India Winter Games

No bio-metric attendance

"The Chandigarh Administration has taken all measures with regard to containment measures being taken to avoid the spread of said disease by setting up 24X7 helpline, dedicated ambulance and fully equipped isolation wards in all the three hospitals namely GMSH-16, GMCH-32& PGIMER," an official release of Chandigarh Administration said.

The notification also stated that traffic police will not be using a breath analyser to check for alcohol levels. "Police department was also directed to stop the usage of breath analyser being used for checking alcohol level as a containment measure in controlling the spread of disease till further orders." 

In India, 32 cases of the virus have been confirmed. However, no person has died due to the virus. On Friday, the Health Ministry has also advised the citizens from across the country to avoid mass gatherings. In a notification issued on Friday morning, the Ministry stated that all mass gatherings may be "avoided or postponed till the disease spread is contained."

 The notification further stated that if mass gatherings are organised, states will have to take "necessary action to guide the organizers on precautions to be taken as per the risk communication material already sent so as to avoid any Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases and Influenza-Like Illness (ILIs) including Covid-19."

READ: Indian Wells Tennis Event Takes Steps To Combat Coronavirus

Coronavirus outbreak

Globally, more than 3,200 people have died, with the epicentre being in China. The virus has infected more than 1,02,000 people globally and has now spread to North America South America, Europe, New Zealand, and as many as 80 other countries. 

On March 1, UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock today released US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the virus. The announcement came soon after the WHO upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to "very high" – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.

READ: Barring Italian Couple, All Suspected Coronavirus Cases Show Negative Test Results In Rajasthan

READ: Coronavirus: Central Govt Implements Pre-call Awareness Messages On BSNL & Reliance Jio

(with inputs from ANI)