Ooty : All tourist centres in the Niligiris district in Tamil Nadu are closed and those tourists staying in hotels and lodges are asked to vacate within 24 hours, the district collector, Innocent Divya said Tuesday.

Since high incidents of Corona Virus were reported in the neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka, district administration has decided to take preventive measures and close all the tourist centre in the district, Innocent Divya told reporters here.

Similarly, those travellers who are staying in the hotels and lodged are also asked to vacate within 24 hours and return to their places to prevent the spread of virus, she said.

The district has many tourist attractions like Botanical gardens, Pykara dam, Rose Gardens, Sims Park and there used to be heavy inflow of visitors from neighbouring states from March.

Eight persons,–two from Italy, three from Mecca and three from Karnataka who had visited the district some time ago, reportedly have the symptoms of virus and now now under observation in Kerala and Karnataka, she said.

Similarly, the students who are studying in International Schools are asked to stay there and not to leave for their countries, Divya said.

A total of 40 medical teams are put on high alert and are moving across the district and people entering the district are screened at eight check posts, she said.