Gujarat government rejects Congress suggestion to shut malls, theatres amid Coronavirus scare

 The Gujarat government on Wednesday rejected a suggestion of the opposition Congress to close malls, cinema halls and other places of public gathering in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus in the state.

The suggestion to shut down such public places for 20 to 25 days was made by Congress MLA Naushad Solanki during a discussion on coronavirus in the state Assembly here. Solanki also asked the government to start screening of passengers at bus stations and railway stations, on the lines of screening being done at the international airports.

In his response, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said there is no need to create panic among people by shutting down places like malls and cinema halls. "Even in China, only five to six worst affected cities have been sealed while life is going on normally in other parts of that country. Thus, we don't have to create panic here at this stage. We are taking all necessary steps to contain the spread of coronavirus," Patel said.

"Screening of international passengers is being conducted at Ahmedabad and Surat airports as per the Centre's guidelines. We are also screening foreigners staying at luxury hotels in the state," said Patel, who holds charge of the state health department. He said as of now, not a single positive case of coronavirus has been found in Gujarat. All the 56 samples tested for the virus came out negative so far, Patel said. More than 2,200 people who had returned from other countries have been screened till now, he said.

Besides, over 2,300 people, mostly crew members, onboard 55 ships were also screened at major ports of Gujarat, the minister said. As a precautionary measure, as many as 576 isolation beds and 204 ventilators have been kept reserved at different government hospitals in the state, he added.