Amid Coronavirus scare, Maharashtra govt curtails ongoing Assembly session

The total number of coronavirus cases reached 73 on Thursday in India and in the wake of rising cases of the deadly virus in Maharashtra, the ongoing Assembly session has been curtailed by six days. State cabinet minister Anil Parab announced that the budget session will conclude on March 14 against its scheduled date of March 20, 2020.

'All schools and colleges will be closed if needed'

On Wednesday, while addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced that "the Assembly session will be completed by Saturday or Sunday so that the people sitting in the House can work on the coronavirus issue." On whether the schools and colleges will be closed in the wake of coronavirus, Thackeray had stated, "Class 10 examination is going on right now. So wait for two days, all schools and colleges will be closed if needed."

'...there will be no burden on the health department alone'

Rajesh Tope, the state Health Minister said that they had screened 1,30,000 passengers at the Mumbai International Airport. "We have also set up the committee under the head of the Chief Secretary where other revenue, home, urban and rural development secretaries will be members of this committee. So there will be no burden on the health department alone," Tope said.

The Ministry of Health on Thursday has confirmed the total number of coronavirus cases to 73 in India. The states of Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have reported maximum cases across the country. Of total 73 cases, 56 are Indian nationals and the rest are foreigners, as per the Union Health Ministry data till 11 AM. A total of 10,57,506 have been screened in India so far.

State-wise List of confirmed cases in India:

• Kerala 17
• Maharashtra 11
• UP 10
• Delhi 6
• Karnataka 4
• UT Laddakh 3
• Rajasthan 1
• Telangana 1
• Tamil Nadu 1
• Jammu And Kashmir 1
• Punjab 1
• Indians tested positive 56
• Foreigners tested positive 17

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The Central government has also issued detailed guidelines for a concerted and whole government approach to prevent the further imposition of virus cases and to build up a comprehensive and robust response system. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe ailments may take three to six weeks to rebound. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed, but more than 58,000 already have recovered.

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(With agency inputs)