Lucknow Zoo shut down till March 31, weekly markets suspended amid Coronavirus

In view of the Coronavirus pandemic, the authorities have announced the shutting down of the Lucknow Zoo till March 23 as a precautionary measure. Along with it, all the weekly markets in Lucknow have been suspended till March 31. This announcement comes a day after the state government announced the closure of multiplexes, cinemas, clubs and gymnasiums in the city. 

According to reports, the zoo used to witness at least 4,000 visitors per day. However, the number of tourists dropped drastically after the Coronavirus breakout in India. Reportedly, this will be the first time since 1921 that the Lucknow Zoo will be shut for such a long period of time. 

The Coronavirus outbreak

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared over 130, including 17 foreign nationals. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. A third death has been reported in India on Tuesday in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital. Earlier, two deaths were reported in Kalaburgi and West Delhi. 

The Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad. The government is also monitoring all suspected cases and has issued preventive advisories. Earlier on Saturday, the Central government decided to treat the deadly virus as a "notified disaster", and has since issued even more advisories and travel restrictions.

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COVID-19 affected over 140 countries

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 148 countries in the world. Presently, there are around 182,609 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of around 7,171 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19 yet, 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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