A lift operator stands inside a dedicated lift for people suspected to be infected with the new coronavirus at the Government Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, India, Monday, March 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)
Coronavirus outbreak Highlights: The Kerala government on Sunday warned of strict action, including prosecution, against those hiding overseas travel history in view of the three fresh coronavirus patients not disclosing their visit to Italy. With five fresh cases being reported this morning, the total count in the country climbed to 39 today.
The Health department warning said, failure to inform authorities would be considered a crime, as the state police separately said it was “illegal and punishable” to hide such information. Arunachal Pradesh too stepped up its security measures and has banned foreigners from entering the state in view of the outbreak, PTI reported.
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Break up of total COVID-19 cases in India
➡ Kerala: Eight positive coronavirus cases. Three of the five new patients travelled from Italy, two were in contact with them. Three others who were previously infected have been discharged
➡ Ladakh: Two persons tested positive. They have a travel history to Iran
➡ Tamil Nadu: One person, who has a travel history to Oman, has contracted the disease
➡ Delhi: Three confirmed cases. One of the infected persons has travelled from Italy, another from Malaysia
➡ Agra: Six family members of a Delhi patient tested positive
➡ Rajasthan: Sixteen Italian tourists in Jaipur and one Indian who accompanied them got the infection
➡ Ghaziabad: One man who returned from Tehran contracted the disease
➡ Telangana: One who tested positive has Dubai travel history, Singapore contact
➡ World: 1,05,836 Coronavirus cases reported across the world which included 3,595 deaths across 95 countries.
Globally, Bangladesh on Sunday confirmed its first three cases according to a Dhaka Tribune report. In Iran, 49 new deaths were reported, making it the highest single-day death toll since the outbreak in the Islamic Republic, according to news agency AFP. In China, 10 people were killed after a hotel which was being used as a quarantine facility collapsed, late last evening. At least 23 people are still feared trapped under the debris as evaucation process is underway.
A man wearing a mask walks away from the entrance of the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., near Seattle, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. The facility has been tied to several confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Highlights
In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the Karnataka education department has declared holiday for all pre-primary schools (aided and private), including pre-KG, LKG and UKG schools, in urban and rural areas of Bengaluru from March 9, “till further orders.” The decision was taken according to advice received from the Health Commissioner, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar confirmed.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Sunday asked citizens of Thane to not panic and rush to buy masks in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Addressing an awareness programme, Dr Vedhas Nimkar, Joint Secretary of IMA's Thane Chapter, said only those people who are advised to use masks by doctors should use them. The event was attended by doctors and local people. (PTI)
Offering Holi wishes to the state, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Sunday appealed to people to help “purify the air” by adding cow ghee, dry neem leaves, mustard, camphor and resin to Holika pyres, along with traditional ingredients like coconut, dates and popcorn. Rupani said the festival should be turned into ‘Arogya Raksha Parv’, at a time when the world is gripped by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Read full story
Italy announced a sweeping quarantine early Sunday for its northern regions, igniting travel chaos as it restricted the movements of a quarter of its people in a bid to halt the new coronavirus' relentless march across Europe. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, signed a decree shortly after midnight, affecting 16 million people in the country's north, including the Lombardy region and at least 14 provinces in neighbouring regions, AP reported.
All the 47 samples of suspected coronavirus infection in Gujarat have tested negative, the state government said on Sunday. The state government has set up a laboratory testing facility at Jamnagar medical college, a second such unit after the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. "All the 47 samples of suspected coronavirus cases have tested negative, which included five such samples which tested negative in Ahmedabad laboratory on Sunday," a state government release said.
A dozen new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Singapore, taking the total number of people infected by the deadly virus in the country to 150, the Health Ministry here said on Sunday. Out of the 12 new cases reported, nine are in critical condition in the intensive care units of hospitals. The latest infections bring Singapore's total number of COVID-19 cases to 150. A total of 60 of them are still hospitalised, though their health is improving, the ministry said. One of the new cases is a 42-year-old male Singaporean who had been in Thailand from March 4 to 6.
Following IndiGo's footsteps, budget carrier GoAir has also said that it will not charge any fee on cancellation or rescheduling of tickets booked till April 30 amid the Coronavirus scare. This applies for all bookings made between March 8 and April 30 and for the travel period between March 8 and September 30, an airline statement said.
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the world stood at 105,836, including 3,595 deaths, across 95 countries and territories by Sunday, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources. China —excluding the territories of Hong Kong and Macau —where the epidemic emerged at the end of December had 80,695 cases, of which 3,097 were fatal. There were 44 new infections and 27 deaths there since 1700 GMT Saturday. Outside China, a total of 25,141 cases have been recorded around the world since the epidemic began, including 498 deaths.
As the universal screening of all international passengers entering Karnataka continues, one new symptomatic patient was admitted to an isolation hospital in Dakshina Kannada district on Sunday. With this, the total number of persons still admitted in isolation wards have risen to six in Karnataka - one each in Bengaluru, Ballari, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Hassan, and Dakshina Kannada, according to top officials of the health department. "A total of 16 samples collected from symptomatic patients from different parts of the state were sent for testing on Sunday," the media bulletin reads. However, Karnataka has not recorded any positive cases to date.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says he has been greeting people with traditional 'namaste' instead of shaking hands as a precaution against Coronavirus.
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Taking a serious view of three fresh coronavirus patients not disclosing their Italy visit, the Kerala government on Sunday warned of strict action, including prosecution, against those hiding such travel to affected countries and symptoms of the infection. The health department directed that those who come from coronavirus-affected nations should inform it at the earliest. "Otherwise, it will be considered as a crime. Those who come from abroad should be in-house surveillance for 28 days," a release from the health department said.
Bangladesh confirmed its first three cases of coronavirus in the country on Sunday, according to a media report. The cases include— two men and a woman— who have tested positive for the coronavirus infection on Saturday, the Dhaka Tribune reported. "Among them, two of the victims had recently returned from Italy while the other is a relative of one of the returnees," Meerjady Sabrina Flora, the director of Institue of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research was quoted as saying by PTI.
NIV scientists working 'round-the-clock' to ensure smooth coronavirus testing across the country. Around 4,000 samples from across the country have been tested in past one month. Everyday, an average of 25 samples are being tested at National Institute of Virology, Pune, a Indian Council of Medical Research scientist told PTI.
Iran’s health ministry on Sunday reported 49 new deaths caused by Covid-19, making it the highest toll within 24 hours since the start of the outbreak in the Islamic Republic, news agency AFP reported. The new count brings the number of those killed by the virus in the country since mid-February to 194, one of the highest tolls outside of China, where the disease originated. The virus has spread to all of Iran's 31 provinces with 6,566 confirmed cases.
As evacuation process of Indians stranded in Iran is underway, NCP chief Sharad Pawar today urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishnkar to ensure medical help and general assistance for them. "In the wake of the alarming Covid-19 issue, I voiced my concerns to Dr. S. Jaishankar ji, Union Minister of External Affairs regarding more than 40 Indian citizens stranded at Qom city in Iran. They are distressed and in urgent need of medical help and general assistance," Pawar tweeted.
A man was booked in Arunachal Pradesh's East Siang District for posting misleading information on social media regarding coronavirus, officials said on Sunday, PTI reported. A case was lodged against Subu Kena Tsering based on a complaint filed by district medical officer Kaling Dai on Friday at Pasighat police station, they said. Tsering posted in a Facebook group that coronavirus has reached Pasighat and two patients have been referred to Dibrugarh in Assam, officials said.
With Indian festival Holi approaching, an effigy of a demon representing the rapidly spreading Coronavirus has been created for burning on March 9 as part of the festival in a chawl in Mumbai's Worli.
An ITBP bus in which Italian passengers travelled in Rajasthan and Agra was disinfected at the Chawla camp in Delhi, ANI reported. The total number of positive cases reported in India stands at 39 currently.
Italy's prime minister announced a sweeping coronavirus quarantine early Sunday, restricting the movements of about a quarter of the country's population in a bid to limit contagions at the epicenter of Europe's outbreak. Shortly after midnight, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree affecting about 16 million people in the country's prosperous north, including the Lombardy region and at least 14 provinces in neighboring regions. The extraordinary measures will be in place until April 3. "For Lombardy and for the other northern provinces that I have listed there will be a ban for everybody to move in and out of these territories and also within the same territory," Conte said. "Exceptions will be allowed only for proven professional needs, exceptional cases and health issues." (AP)
After a hotel which was used as a quarantine facility collapsed on Saturday late evening, seven people were killed, official media sources were quoted by news agency PTI. Nearly, 71 people were feared trapped in the hotel which collapsed in Quanzhou city of the province, state-run Xinhua reported. The hotel was being used to accommodate and quarantine people who had come to the province amid Coronavirus outbreak. 23 people still remain trapped under the rubble.