Coronavirus Crisis: Nagaland Imposes Blanket Ban on Tourists, Orders Shutdown of Educational Institutes till April 12

Kohima, March 16, 2020:

As a preventive measure against the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that has killed over 6,500 people worldwide, the Government of Nagaland has decided to close down all educational institutions in the State from March 17 to April 12. Moreover, the State has also imposed an indefinite blanket ban on tourists. The ban will be imposed from March 18 onwards.

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In a latest notification issued by Abhijit Sinha, Principal Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, it has been informed that the issuance of new/fresh Inner Line Permit (ILP) for both domestic and foreign tourists and all other categories shall remain suspended with immediate effect until further orders.

Moreover, the entry of any foreign or domestic tourist shall remain barred in the State of Nagaland with immediate effect until further orders. This was decided in a high level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

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Meanwhile, an Inside Northeast source has confirmed that the Sikkim Government has issued directives for the closure of discotheques, cinema halls, casinos, gyms, fairs, tambolas, schools, and colleges closed till April 15. However, the CBSE exams will go on as per schedule, we have been informed.

Earlier today, another Northeast Indian state, Tripura, also announced the closure of educational institutes, cinema halls, gyms, swimming pools, et al.

A notice issued by the Tripura Government’s Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar states that in addition to schools, cinema halls, gymnasiums, and swimming pools will also be shut down.

Meanwhile, the Health Minister of Meghalaya has also instructed the Government to close down educational institutes, cinemas, gyms, and swimming pools keeping in view the threat posed by the COVID-19 strand.

Further, it has been informed: “The Bureau of Immigration (BOI) vide letter No. 1/Comm/BoI/2020-81 dated, 11.03.2020 had advised all nationals to avoid all unessential travels abroad. Accordingly, awareness must be spread regarding minimizing, if not totally avoiding, social functions and organizing fair & festival etc”.

India has recorded a total of 114 confirmed cases of coronavirus according to https://www.worldometers.info/ On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did a video call with leaders of SAARC nations to discuss the Coronavirus outbreak and steps to control the spread of the deadly disease. Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that India made special efforts to tackle the problem while reaching out to vulnerable groups. He said that the country’s guiding mantra has been ‘prepare, but don’t panic’ in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

Most of the cases in India are from Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh with 32, 22 and 12 positive cases respectively. The number of active cases in Haryana is 14.

Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir also have 3 and 2 positive cases, respectively. Meanwhile, there have been no reports of any positive case from the Northeast region. The NE States have suspended cross-border passenger trains and buses to Bangladesh as a precautionary measure. Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a large porous border with China and Myanmar, was the first to close the border.

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