NMRDA shuts all its parks and gardens in Nagpur till March 31 amid Coronavirus threat

Amid the growing number of Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) on Tuesday shut down all their parks and gardens in Nagpur till March 31. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country from the novel coronavirus with 42 people testing positive for the infection and one casualty reported in Mumbai on Tuesday.

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The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has reached 148, including 122 Indians and 24 foreign nationals according to government data on Wednesday morning. Kerala with 27 cases becomes the second state to report maximum cases of Coronavirus after Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and 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.

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The Maharashtra government has ordered to shut all schools, malls, cinema halls till March 31, also gyms, swimming pools, and pubs and discotheques in Mumbai city and suburbs have been asked to shut down until further notice. On March 14, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that all malls except grocery stores which sell commodities of day-to-day need to be closed. 

So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus and have entered stage three of the outbreak, while India is still in stage 2.

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The four stages of a Coronavirus outbreak:

At stage 1, only those who have brought the pathogen from foreign shores are affected.

At stage 2, those who have imported the pathogen transmit it to those whom they come into contact with - relatives, acquaintances and locals.

At stage 3, communities are at risk, as locals who have no history of travelling to places where the outbreak has taken place end up contracting the disease, and it isn't immediately possible to say where they caught it from.

At stage 4, the outbreak has virtually become endemic, with an end-point uncertain.

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