Hotels, resorts, and guest houses across parts of Gosaba, Sajnekhali and Dhanekhali in the Sunderbans have been shut down till March 31 as part of the efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Sunderbans affairs department decided at a recent meeting with officials of the tourism and forest departments that all state-run and private facilities in the mangrove forests would shut down immediately.

Hotels and resorts at Sagar Island, Henry’s Island, Namkhana and Patharpratima would also remain shut.

Sources in the tourism department said there were over 200 hotels, guest houses and resorts in and around the Sunderbans and Sagar Island.

The forests draw a large number of tourists, from across India as well as abroad, around this time of the year.

“We have also stopped ferry services between Rasulpur and Talpatti in East Midnapore and Namkhana,” Manturam Pakhira, the Sunderban affairs minister, told Metro. “The hotel owners have been told that the state government would review the situation towards the end of this month. Till further orders, these facilities will remain shut till March 31.”

The state government has decided that a team of doctors, nurses and paramedics would be positioned at Lot Number 8, Kachuberia and Narayanpur in Namkhana to screen visitors to the Kapilmuni Ashram at Sagar Island.

Hotels across Digha, another popular destination for the domestic tourists, are yet to be shut down.

“Kakdwip Superspeciality Hospital has been readied to offer supportive treatment to any suspected coronavirus patient,” a health department officer said.