People undergoing home quarantine for suspected exposure to the novel coronavirus will be stamped on the left hand, the Maharashtra government said on Monday.
In an official release, the state government said the decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and attended by district officials through video-conferencing.
As on Monday, there were 37 Covid-19 patients in the state. As per protocol, people arriving from coronavirus-affected regions are being put under home quarantine as a precautionary measure while their samples are sent for tests.
#LimitContacts#SecondLineOfDefence
— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) March 16, 2020
People who are advised to be #HomeQuarantined will now #GetInked at the back of the palm.
This #BadgeOfHonour will serve as a constant reminder, for 14 days. For others, gets easy to spot & remind to return home. One worry less!#NaToCorona https://t.co/PE1KPOTYgf pic.twitter.com/3VU1hAh9Mm
The statement urged people to send their complaints or requests through e-mails rather than visiting government offices for redressal of grievances.
The district administration has been told to take a call on the requests in these e-mails within seven days, it said.
In another development, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray announced that universities in the state have decided to postpone exams till March 31.
"After risk assessments, the Higher & Technical Ministry has decided to postpone all university exams, in its jurisdiction, to a date later than 31st March, 2020. All educational institutes must therefore observe a complete temporary closure till further notice. #Corona," he tweeted.
In another tweet, Aaditya Thackeray, who is also state tourism minister, said, "Thank you Mirage Hotel, Mumbai and ITC hotel, Mumbai for opening up your doors to incoming travels that will be compulsorily isolated for 24 hours on arrival in Mumbai, as requested by BMC, since yesterday. #Corona."
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 125 on Tuesday after fresh cases were reported from several states. With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, a health ministry official said over 52 000 people who had come in contact with the 125 positive cases have been identified through contact tracing and were under vigorous surveillance.