Fourteen fresh cases of COVID-19 have been reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 61. The number of confirmed cases in India stood at 47 on March 9.
Explained: How is India containing COVID-19?
Here are the latest updates:
J&K administration orders closure of all Anganwadi centres across Kashmir
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered closure of all Anganwadi centers across Kashmir till further orders. All cinema halls in Jammu have been ordered to close, as a preventive measure from the threat of COVID-19 outbreak.
Two more test positive in Kerala
Two more people tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala on Tuesday, taking the total infected cases in the state to 14, Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said.
They are the parents of the 3-year old child who tested positive in Kochi on Monday on return of the family from Italy she told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Their condition was stable, she added.
Earlier, six fresh coronavirus cases were confirmed in the State on Tuesday.
They are friends and relatives of Italy-returned couple and their son who had on Saturday tested positive for the virus along with two other kin staying with them at their home in Pathanamthitta district.
Four held in Kerala for posting fake news on coronavirus
Four people have been arrested in Kerala in connection with fake social media campaigns on coronavirus, police said on Tuesday.
Two people were arrested in Thrissur district and others in Alappuzha and Wayanad districts, a police press release said.
51 samples test negative in Gujarat; 2.2k screened
The samples of 51 people tested for novel coronavirus in Gujarat have returned negative, while the report of one person was awaited, a senior health official said on Tuesday.
No person in Gujarat has so far tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which broke out in Wuhan in China in December and has since spread worldwide.
“The samples of 51 of 52 people tested for coronavirus have returned negative. One person’s report is awaited. So far, we have screened 2,231 travellers who arrived at the airports in Ahmedabad and Surat. Another 1,024 people are under observation in their homes,” said Commissioner of Health Jai Prakash Shivahare.
He said samples were currently being tested in two laboratories in BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad and MP Shah Medical College in Surat.
“We have planned to start such testing labs at Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot once we get approval from the Centre. Till now, we have trained over 2,400 medical officers and 14,000 para medical staff on steps to be taken in case of an outbreak,” Shivahare said.
The state has kept 572 beds and 204 ventilators to tackle any emergency situation, the health commissioner added
Three more test positive in Pune
Three more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra on Tuesday, and all three had come in contact with a man and a woman who had tested positive a day earlier, the State government said.
It took the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra to five, said a press release issued by the State health department.
Samples of a man and a woman from Pune who had been to Dubai recently tested positive on Monday evening.
On Tuesday, their daughter and the driver of the cab in which the family had travelled from the Mumbai airport to Pune, also tested positive, Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram informed.
Further, another person who had travelled by the same flight as them also tested positive, the State health department said on Tuesday evening in a release.
The condition of all these patients was stable, the release added, appealing people not to panic.
Coronavirus: Dubai-returned Nashik woman, mother quarantined
A 23-year-old woman and her 54- year-old mother were admitted in an isolation ward in the district civil hospital in Nashik in Maharashtra on Tuesday for suspected exposure to COVID-19, health officials said.
The woman had gone to Dubai on February 27 and returned to Nashik on March 3 and was quarantined after she complained of throat pain, cold and cough, while her mother was admitted as the two were together at home over the past one week, a doctor said.
Their samples have been sent for testing to National Institute of Virology in Pune and reports are expected by Wednesday, he added.
Meanwhile, in a move to tackle the virus threat, the Nashik district administration directed the International Vipassana Academy to stop meditation sessions at its facility in Igatpuri.
The facility at Igatpuri, some 45 kilometres from here and 136 kilometres from Mumbai, gets several foreign visitors everyday, an official said.
In another development, a 69-year-old man, quarantined as a precautionary measure on March 8, was discharged on Monday after his sample tested negative.
Norwegian Air cancels 3,000 flights from March to June
Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle said it would cancel "approximately 3,000 flights" mid-March to mid-June representing 15 percent of the airline's capacity for the period as the COVID-19 outbreak hits travel.
"The past week, Norwegian has experienced reduced demand on future bookings. The company will cancel about 3,000 flights to meet the change in demand. The cancellations represent approximately 15% of the total capacity for the period mid-March to mid-June," the company said in a statement, adding that the cancellations would affect the airline's entire network.
British Airways cancels flights to Italy
British Airways said it has cancelled its flights to Italy on Tuesday after the country implemented a lockdown to control the deadly COVID-19 epidemic.
Asked by AFP to confirm reports that it had axed all of its Italy flights for Tuesday, a BA spokeswoman replied: "Yes, today we have."
BA added in a statement that it had "contacted all customers who are due to travel today".
The company, which is owned by London-listed International Airlines Group, said passengers could rebook flights scheduled up to April 4.
The Italian government has imposed unprecedented nationwide restrictions on its 60 million people as it desperately attempts to halt the progress of the fatal COVID-19 disease.
China’s Xi says virus ‘basically curbed’ at epicentre
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared on Tuesday that the spread of the deadly COVID-19 epidemic has been “basically curbed” at its epicentre in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.
Mr. Xi said “initial success has been made in stabilising the situation and turning the tide in Hubei and Wuhan,” the official Xinhua news agency reported after the Chinese leader paid his first visit to the city since the crisis erupted in January.
Iran reports 54 new deaths, highest one-day toll
Iran on Tuesday reported 54 deaths from the COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day toll since the start of the outbreak in the country.
The new deaths bring the number of those killed by the virus in the Islamic republic to 291, the health ministry's spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised conference.
He added that 881 new cases had been confirmed, bringing the total infection tally to 8,042.
Crisis-hit Paris Opera cancels shows over virus
Crisis-hit Paris Opera has been forced to cancel a ballet, opera and a concert because of COVID-19 outbreak.
The institution has been haemorrhaging money after being hit by a month-and-a-half-long strike over pension reforms that saw the curtain come down on 85 performances.
Its management pulled George Balanchine’s “Ballet” on Monday night after the French government banned public gatherings of more than 1,000 people to slow the spread of COVID-19.
But it said a performance of Massenet’s opera “Manon” starring the South African soprano Pretty Yende will go ahead behind closed doors so it can be filmed on its Opera Bastille stage.
A Mahler concert next Wednesday has also been shelved.
Paris Opera, which has lost 16.4 million euros in ticket sales alone because of the strike, said it will decide Wednesday the fate of the rest of its programme, including its flagship production of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle”, which is due to start next month.
Theatres in Kerala to be shut down till March 31
After Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested earlier today that all movie theaters be shut down in the state till March 31, keeping in mind the larger public good, the producers and distributors in the industry have decided to honour his request.
The producers and distributors will hold a review on March 16, and will decide whether any change has to be made depending on the situation at that point.
Manipur closes both international gates at border town Moreh
The legalised border trade with Myanmar came to a grinding halt from Tuesday as the Manipur government closed both the international gates I and II at Moreh, Manipur’s border town.
An order issued by H. Gyan Prakash, the special secretary (Home), Manipur, says that the preventive measure was taken to check possible outbreak and transmission of Coronavirus in Manipur . Crossing the international gates by all sections of people through these gates is prohibited. The order says that all district authorities and security forces have been instructed to close down all entry points.
Interactive: Tracking COVID-19 in India
An outbreak that has spread to several nations, COVID-19 began in Wuhan city of China.
While thousands have been affected by the disease in China itself, the virus reached Iran, Italy, South Korea, India, the U.S., U.K. and many other countries rapidly.
In India, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Kerala on January 30, 2020. Subsequently two more positive cases were reported from the State. At a time when all the three patients were declared recovered, a fresh case was reported from Delhi.
Six fresh cases in Kerala
Six new cases of COVID-19 has been reported in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. The State has reported 12 positive cases now.
Mr. Vijayan has asked all organisations, individuals to take proactive measures for containment of virus.
Better to avoid festivals, darshan at Sabarimala, he said.
The State has heightened vigil in view of COVID-19 spread.
All public functions stands cancelled till March 31. Classes up to VII standard have been called off.
Meanwhile, Transport Commissioner has issued an order putting on hold driving and learners’ tests till March 13. Enforcement in Kollam, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts in this period will be restricted to patrol. It also asks private and govt bus crew to take all precautions against the infection.
COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rises to 16
Pakistan witnessed a sudden increase in coronavirus cases as the number of patients rose to 16, officials said on Tuesday.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed that nine new cases were identified in Karachi, capital of Sindh province.
He tweeted that “all these cases are contacts of an already confirmed case” and authorities were testing more people who were in contact with the infected people.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah asked all hospitals to share the record of patients with the symptoms of pneumonia to further investigate them.
According to officials, five of the new patients came to Karachi from Syria via Doha while three persons came from London via Dubai during the past week.
Thirteen of the total 16 victims belong to Sindh, according to Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister. Authorities were trying to track down all their contacts for further testing in order to contain spread of the virus.
- PTI
Three more test positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru
A day after Karnataka reported the first COVID-19 case, another three persons have tested positive for the disease on Tuesday taking the total positive cases to four in the State.
It is suspected that the new positive cases are the 40-year-old techie's close contacts - his wife, child and the colleague, who had traveled with him to the US and who are under quarantine.
First COVID-19 death recorded in Canada
Canada has recorded its first death from COVID-19, health officials in the westernmost province of British Columbia announced on March 9.
The victim, a man living at an elderly care facility, "was infected with COVID-19 (and) passed away last night," the province's health officer Bonnie Henry told reporters. Officials have not released the victim's age.
Serie A, all sport in Italy halted
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the suspension until April 3 of all sporting events in the country, including the top-flight Serie A football league, as Italy grapples with the coronavirus crisis.
The final Serie A game before government announcement saw Sassuolo beat Brescia 3-0 behind closed doors in Reggio Emilia on Monday.
After scoring his opening goal Sassuolo striker Francesco Caputo held up a handwritten message on piece of paper, urging fans: “Everything will be fine. Stay at home.”
A few hours later the Prime Minister used similar words as he announced a countrywide lockdown.
“I am going to sign a decree that can be summarised as follows: I stay at home,” Mr. Conte announced in a dramatic evening television address.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. C. Vijayabaskar tweeted that eight samples tested for COVID-19 were negative.
The Health ministry had put under surveillance eight persons, including the family members and the taxi driver who had been in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient who arrived from Oman. They were under home quarantine.
IAF aircraft brings back 58 Indians from coronavirus-hit Iran
A military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) brought back 58 Indians from coronavirus-hit Iran on Tuesday, officials said.
The aircraft, a C-17 Globemaster, was sent to Tehran on Monday evening.
Also read | Explained: How is India containing COVID-19?
About 2,000 Indians are living in Iran, a country that has witnessed increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the last few days.
“The IAF aircraft has landed. Mission completed. On to the next,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted.
In an earlier tweet, he said, “First batch of 58 Indian pilgrims being brought back from Iran. IAF C-17 taken off from Tehran and expected to land soon in Hindon.”
Italy orders nationwide lockdown as new cases surge
The whole of Italy will be placed under lockdown until next month, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on March 9, in an unprecedented and unexpected new attempt to beat COVID-19 in Europe's worst-affected country .
Conte told reporters that measures introduced just two days ago in much of the north were no longer sufficient after a jump in deaths tied to the highly infectious disease, and said the entire nation had to make sacrifices to stop its spread.
Gujarat Congress postpones March 12 Gandhi Sandesh Yatra
The Gujarat Congress on Monday said it had postponed the 386-kilometre ‘Gandhi Sandesh Yatra’ aimed at highlighting the current situation of the country through a symbolic Dandi March.
“In view of the increasing impact of coronavirus , the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee has decided to postpone the Gandhi Sandesh Yatra starting from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12,” Congress party’s Gujarat in-charge Rajiv Satav tweeted.
South Korea reports 35 new cases, total at 7,513
South Korea reported 35 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing total infections in Asia's biggest coronavirus outbreak outside mainland China to 7,513.
The death toll rose by three to 54, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The numbers are expected to be updated later on Tuesday.
Israel orders 14-day self-quarantine for anyone entering country
Israel will impose a two-week quarantine on all travellers entering the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, toughening already significant travel restrictions.
“After a day of difficult discussions, we have taken a decision: all those coming to Israel from abroad will be placed in isolation for 14 days,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a video broadcast on his Twitter account.
A war room approach is needed, says virologist Jacob John
The country needs a war room where a designated group of persons think only about COVID-19, design strategies for the next week and the next month, renowned virologist Jacob John said.
Dr. John, retired professor of virology from Christian Medical College, Vellore, is of the view that the situation, both in India and worldwide, is “grim”, and that the country was merely reacting to what was happening.
Airfares nosedive as COVID-19 fears scare off passengers
With hundreds of passengers cancelling their travel plans owing to COVID-19, the airfares for domestic travel have nosedived across metro cities in the country.
Now, a flight to Bengaluru will cost a passenger only ₹1,000. Similarly, the fare to Delhi is now around ₹3,000-₹3,500 and to Hyderabad around ₹1,200-₹1,500.
Prepare quarantine facilities, CAPFs told
The Government of India has directed the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to prepare quarantine facilities with a bed capacity to admit over 5,400 people to deal with cases of coronavirus across the country, officials said on Monday.
CSIR lab working on discovering drug to combat COVID-19
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Director-General Shekhar C. Mande said in Mysuru on Monday that the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), one of the CSIR labs, has started work on synthesising chemical formulations for the manufacture of drug for COVID-19.
COVID-19 outbreak could help agri exports: Agriculture Ministry analysis
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak , the Centre has identified 21 agricultural products, including honey, potatoes, grapes, soya beans and groundnuts, in which Indian exports could benefit from trade restrictions against Chinese goods.
The total value of China’s global exports of these products amounted to $5488.6 million in 2018. India exported $4,445.9 million worth of these commodities in the same period and could now have a chance to grab part of China’s market share.
Punjab, Karnataka, Jammu, Maharashtra report first COVID-19 cases
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) made its way to Maharashtra with two Pune residents with travel history to Dubai testing positive on Monday. Maharshtra State health officials said that the husband and wife had returned to India on March 1 but reported to the hospital on Monday after developing mild symptoms.
