In view of the Coronavirus scare, the Amarinder Singh led Punjab government on Monday decided to the services of the doctors and paramedical staff, who are due to retirement, working with the state health and family welfare department till 30 September 2020.

This decision was taken at the Council of Ministers, led by the Chief Minister, took stock of the situation and the state’s preparedness to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. Though Punjab has so far reported only one confirmed Coronavirus case, appealed to the people to the people not to panic but to take all the necessary precautions, while avoiding crowded places and mass gatherings.

Following discussions at the meeting, the cabinet also appealed to people to either defer wedding functions or ensure that not more than 50 persons are present. It also appealed to religious and dera heads to limit the gatherings and educate their followers about the Coronavirus dangers.

All the government and private schools have already been closed till March 31 in the state. However, medical colleges (senior year students) have been kept open as a support system.

Detailed instructions have also been issued for closure of all cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools in the state from the midnight of March 14 till further orders. All large public gatherings including sports, conferences, cultural events, fairs and exhibitions, wedding functions, are also prohibited till further orders.

The cabinet has, however, left the decision on closure of malls and marriage palaces to the group of ministers, said an official spokesperson.

The principal secretary health and family welfare, Anurag Aggarwal, apprised the cabinet through a detailed presentation. He said the single confirmed COVID-19 patient, with travel history of Italy, had been admitted in GMC Amritsar and was now stable. His wife and son had tested negative but were under observation.

As per the presentation, as many as 91689 passengers have been screened at the International Airports at Amritsar and Mohali, as well as the international check posts at Wagah Border and Kartarpur corridor till date. Out of eight symptomatic passengers found during screening at these sites, one was positive and all others were tested negative at GMC Amritsar.

The cabinet was further informed that 100 samples had been sent for testing till date, of which only one was positive and 95 negative for COVID-19, while the results of four samples were still awaited.