IIT Delhi suspends academic, co-curricular activities amid Coronavirus outbreak

In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Friday has suspended all of its academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. An official notice issued by the institute stated, "As a part of preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19, the institute has suspended all the academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities."

Further, according to the notice, the students pursuing B-Tech, Dual Degree, MSc, DIIT, M Tech, M Des, and MBA degrees, as well as the first-year PhD students, have been asked to leave the hostel by March 15 midnight and it is expected that they go straight to their homes. Further, it stated that the start of the academic activity will be communicated through email and the institute's webpage.

JNU suspends classes, examination

Meanwhile, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) also announced the suspension of classes and examination till March 31. According to a notice issued by the University, events such as seminars, conferences and workshops on the campus have also been postponed. Along with it, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has also suspended classes till March 31 and advised students to avoid large gatherings. 

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Coronavirus in India

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to 80 - Haryana-15, Telangana-1, Rajasthan-3, Andhra Pradesh - 1, Karnataka-5, Jammu-1, Ladakh-3, Maharashtra- 16, Tamil Nadu-1, Uttar Pradesh-11, Delhi-6, Punjab-1, Kerala-19 (out of which 3 recovered). Along with it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. 

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India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15. Moreover, the Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. The government is also monitoring all suspected cases and issued preventive advisories. 

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Coronavirus crisis

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected nearly 118 countries in the world. Presently, there are over 1,24,518 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 4,607 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

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(With ANI Inputs)