GoAir has suspended all flights to Mizoram for 28 days from Thursday till April 15, an official said on Tuesday.

Principal consultant for civil aviation, Wing Commander J. Lalhmingliana, told The Telegraph that the airline had suspended its operation on the Calcutta-Guwahati-Imphal-Aizawl sectors as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The proposed direct flight between Delhi and Aizawl, which was scheduled to be introduced by the airline on March 29, has been postponed and will be re-scheduled once the situation is normal.

Lalhmingliana said the state government has not received any intimation from Air India and IndiGo, which also operate from Aizawl, on whether or not they will suspend operations.

GoAir, a Mumbai-based low-cost airline and the fifth largest in the country, had launched its operation from Aizawl on October 15 last year on the Calcutta-Guwahati-Imphal-Aizawl sectors.

State health department officials said no confirmed case of coronavirus has been reported till date.

So far, 153 people have been quarantined at home, of whom eight have been discharged on completion of the observation period.

A section of Mizoram churches, including Mizoram Presbyterian Church and the Salvation Army, on Tuesday temporarily suspended important religious activities in the wake of the pandemic.

In a circular issued to its local churches on Tuesday, Mizoram Synod, the highest executive body of Mizoram Presbyterian Church, temporarily suspended church activities involving mass gathering. The India eastern territory of Salvation Army suspended “territorial-wide conference and other conferences at district, division and extension level” till April 15.

Some government departments also suspended important activities. The Assembly, at a meeting led by Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo, put on hold any committee sittings and spot visits till March 31.

An official said the meeting suggested that MLAs should not to take public interviews till March 31, that legislators, officers and staffers of Assembly secretariat would enter the Assembly premises through the main gate after undergoing screening, and barring standard office procedure, all meetings and public gatherings within the premises of the Assembly would be prohibited until further decision.

The Mizoram Youth Commission (MYC) also temporarily suspended its programmes.

The state government has issued advisories asking people with cough, cold, sore throats and respiratory problems to stay indoors and avoid public places like markets and church.

It also urged the people to strictly observe personal hygiene by washing hands and using hand sanitizer.

The government also discouraged travel to Covid-19-affected states and countries.

Health department officials said more than 38,000 people had been screened and at least 145 people quarantined at home till Tuesday.