Health department raid on chemist shops to check price of mask and sanitizer due to Coronavirus in Chandigarh on Friday. (Express photo)
Coronavirus Live Updates: The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 43 on Monday after four fresh cases were reported from Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, respectively, officials in the Health Ministry said. No deaths due to the virus have been reported yet, they added.
Here are the latest breakup of cases from across the world:
Break up of total COVID-19 cases in India
# Kerala: Nine positive coronavirus cases. A three-year-old today was admitted in the hospital.
# Ladakh: Two persons tested positive. They have a travel history to Iran
# Jammu and Kashmir: First case reported today
# Tamil Nadu: One person, who has a travel history to Oman, has contracted the disease
# Delhi: Four confirmed cases. One of the infected persons has travelled from Italy, another from Malaysia
# Rajasthan: Sixteen Italian tourists in Jaipur and one Indian who accompanied them got the infection
# Uttar Pradesh: One man who returned from Tehran contracted the disease; another case reported today; six family members of a Delhi patient tested positive in Agra
# 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.
In Kerala, a three-year-child, who had recently returned from Italy via Dubai, tested positive earlier in the day. Officials in Kochi said the child was admitted to Kalamassery medical college and her parents were also moved to isolation wards. Jammu and Kashmir reported its first case after a man, who had recently travelled to Iran and South Korea, tested positive for the virus.
Italy is among the hardest-hit by the outbreak, after China, with 5,883 cases and 233 deaths. Kerala had previously reported three cases starting January 30 — all of them had returned from China’s Wuhan, which is at the centre of the outbreak, and were discharged after treatment.
Hotel staff members wear facemask as a preventive measure at the entrance of the Taj Hotel in Amritsar on Sunday. (Express photo/Rana Simranjit Singh)
Highlights
Qatar announced on Monday it was suspending schools and universities from Tuesday, March 10, to control the coronavirus outbreak, according to Reuters.
On the outset of new incidents regarding COVID-19, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has decided to expand universal screening to domestic arrival passengers too. Universal screening had started for international passengers on March 3. New health counters were added to both international and domestic arrival areas. On an average, the airport handles 15,000 arrival passengers.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said the government is prepared to deal with novel coronavirus and his ministry is sending directives, including guidelines, to states in all the languages on ways to contain it. "We are sending detailed guidelines to all states on ways to contain coronavirus. Have asked states to strengthen laboratories and manpower to effectively deal with coronavirus and form early rapid action teams," Vardhan told PTI adding, that the government is prepared to deal with the infection.
PGIMER, Chandigarh and Punjab University together have created a comic to make children aware about the threat of coronavirus and how to remain safe through simple precautionary steps. In this comic, Vaayu is a global citizen who lives in the foothills of Himalayas. He is a superhero who works for the better public health and environment.
Britain said on Monday anyone returning from areas in northern Italy which have been placed under a lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus must self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of whether they show any symptoms of illness. The Italian government said that under new measures effective from Sunday, people were not allowed to enter or leave the Lombardy region, which surrounds Milan, as well as 14 provinces in four other regions, including the cities of Venice, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini. (Reuters)
The Centre and the Delhi government are working in close coordination to deal with coronavirus, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. Talking to reporters after a review meeting with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on the preparedness for COVID-19, the chief minister said people arriving from foreign countries are being screened at airports. A campaign will be run to make people aware about the preventive measures to contain the spread of the disease, Kejriwal said.
Union Minister of Health Harsh Vardhan is continuously monitoring and reviewing the status, actions taken and future preparedness of states. After chairing a high-level meeting with Delhi CM and L-G, Dr Harsh Vardha said, "On 18 January we started universal screening on 7 airports and now 30 airports have been put under screening. All passengers coming from other countries are being screened on the airports. So far, 8,74,708 passengers have been screened."
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Monday said that Delhi Metro coaches and DTC buses are being sanitised. "Those who are healthy are not required to wear face-masks.", he added.
Four new cases of novel coronavirus have been reported in the country, taking the number of confirmed cases to 43, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, "We have discussed with Delhi Government to prepare for isolation wards, quarantine facilities, availability of doctors, contact tracing and other precautions, if the cases increase."
European shares slumped across the board on Monday, taking the benchmark STOXX 600 into bear market territory as a lockdown of northern Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak and a 30% plunge in oil prices amplified fears of a global recession. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 7%, meeting the common criteria for a flip into a more negative "bear" environment - a 20% drop from all-time highs. The index is on course for its biggest percentage drop since June 2016, when Britain voted to exit the European Union London's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was down 8%, with shares of oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell both down almost 20%. The top decliner on the STOXX 600 was Tullow Oil, with an eye-popping 38% drop. Europe's oil & gas index tumbled 13.5%, with crude prices in free fall after Saudi Arabia launched a price war with Russia and U.S. shale producers by slashing its official selling price and putting in place plans for a dramatic increase in crude production next month.
Coronavirus is spreading around the world and has caused several deaths. Here are the answers to some basic questions about the new coronavirus. Explained by Dr. Madhu Srivastava, Director, Obstetrician & Gynecologist at CloudNine Hospital, Noida:
The number of people infected with the coronavirus topped 1,07,000 globally, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements. But mainland China, outside the epicentre of Hubei province, reported no new locally transmitted cases for the second straight day. Still, a senior Communist Party official warned against reducing vigilance. "We must stay cautious, not be blindly optimistic and must not have war-weariness," said Chen Yixin, secretary general of the Communist Party's Politics and Law Commission. Walt Disney Co's Shanghai Disneyland said on Monday it will resume a limited number of operations at its resort as part of the first step of a phased reopening, though the main theme park will remain shut.
Kerala authorities are making a frantic search for all those who may have had come in touch with the family tested positive for coronavirus.
In the Mideast, there have been over 7,000 confirmed cases, with the vast majority in hard-hit Iran, which has seen 194 reported deaths. Experts worry Iran may be underreporting its cases.
Prolonged duration of the coronavirus outbreak could result in a revenue loss of 3 billion dollars for airports in the Asia Pacific region, a global airports' grouping said on Monday. Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific also urged regulators and governments to implement well-defined adjustments and relief measures tailored to suit local-level contexts. Asia-Pacific is suffering the highest impact, with passenger traffic volumes down by 24 per cent for the first quarter of the current year, compared to projected traffic levels without COVID-19, as per ACI World estimates. Citing the ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts for 2019–2040 predicted that USD 12.4 billion revenue for the first quarter in the Asia-Pacific region in the "business as usual" scenario, the ACI-APAC said in a release. "The impact of COVID-19 is projected to have a revenue loss of USD 3 billion," it said.
Licences of five medical shops in Ghaziabad were cancelled for allegedly selling hand sanitisers and pollution masks at inflated prices. While action was taken against two shops on Saturday, licences of three more were suspended the following day, said an official. The Ghaziabad administration has issued instructions regarding sale of hygiene products after a resident of the city tested positive for coronavirus. “We received information and inspections were carried out at medical shops along with officials of drug department. We found that some shops had been selling essential items at a higher price than the actual cost. This is a wrongful activity, especially at a time when people have to buy these products. Strict vigilance is taking place and more action will be taken if the activity continues in medical stores,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate (DM), Ghaziabad.
Japan's Nikkei share benchmark tumbled to 14-month lows on Monday, on rising fears that the widening reach of the coronavirus epidemic could severely disrupt the global economy. The Nikkei average shed 5.1% to 19,473.07, its lowest closing level since Jan. 4, 2019. It marked the biggest one-day fall since June 24, 2016. "The markets have moved into a new phase," traders said, referring to recent developments, including multiple state of emergency declarations in the United States in response to the coronavirus outbreak and an oil price plunge. The number of people infected with coronavirus topped 110,000 across the world and more than 3,800 have died, as the outbreak reaches more countries and causes wider economic damage. The broader Topix slid 5.6% to 1,388.97, its lowest closing since Nov. 11, 2016.
During the meeting, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stressed the need for coordinated action between all concerned depts, agencies for activities such as contact tracing and community surveillance, hospital management, identification of isolation wards, adequate PPE and masks.
In New Delhi, a meeting between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal over coronavirus is underway.