COVID-19: Darjeeling restricts tourist entry till April 15

Earlier in the day, GTA chairman Anit Thapa urged tourists not to visit Darjeeling in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. GTA is an Autonomous District Council for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas of the state. “Today we held a meeting with all stakeholders like hotel owners and tour operators. At present, we feel that people’s health is more important than doing business. From tomorrow onwards, entry of tourists will be restricted in Darjeeling. We will also increase check points to focus on entry of tourists,” said Thapa.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police warned rumor-mongers of strict action against spreading fake news on social media over novel coronavirus, a senior officer said. Special teams have been set up at the Kolkata Police headquarters and the police stations within its jurisdiction in this connection, he said. “Strict action will be taken against those spreading fake news. We will not take such things lightly… this is an emergent situation and spreading of false and unverified news can lead to panic among the people,” the IPS officer said.