An armed personnel with his mask on stands on the platform of Kolkata Railway Station as Maitree Express brings in 51 Indians from Bangladesh on Saturday. (Express Photo: Partha Paul)
Coronavirus outbreak Live Updates: The Centre Saturday declared COVID-19 a “notified disaster” for the purpose of providing assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), Ministry of Home Affairs said in a notification on Saturday. Listing out assistance to be provided from SDRF, the government said the hospitalisation cost of coronavirus patients will also be taken care of at the rate fixed by the state government.
According to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Health, the total number of active coronavirus cases in India stands at 84 while 10 people have been treated and discharged.
Leaders from SAARC nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — will hold a video conference at 5 pm Sunday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the same to tackle the pandemic in the region.
In other news, a Mahan Air flight bringing back Indian passengers from Iran will land in Mumbai at midnight on Saturday. An Air India flight has also left for Milan in Italy to fly back the second batch of Indians from the country that has been severely hit by the virus.
As the worldwide death toll surged past 5,000, the World Health Organization on Friday officially declared Europe as the epicentre of the pandemic. More than 132,000 cases of the virus have been reported in 123 countries since it emerged in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, officially declared a national emergency, invoking the Stafford Act to open the door to more federal aid for states and municipalities.
Senior citizens of Mumbai seen wearing protective masks following multiple positive cases of coronavirus in the country. (Express photo/Prashant Nadkar)
Highlights
WITH two people testing positive of COVID-19 virus and 1591 quarantined at home and in hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir so far, UT administration on Saturday imposed section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code banning the assembly of more than five people at any place in Ramban, Budgam and Shopian districts.
``Any violation of this order by any person shall invite action under Indian Penal Code,’’ the orders issued by repective district magistrates said, adding that this has been done as a precautionary measure. The ban on assembly of more than five people will remain in force for a period of one month.
On Friday, it had imposed similar prohibitory orders in hilly Kishtwar district, while all shopping malls, gyms, swimming pools and recreational clubs in Jammu district were closed till March 31.
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After two deaths occurred due to the coronavirus, AIIMS in its notification said postmortem of the bodies infected by the virus should ideally be waived off to avoid aerosol generating procedures. However, if an autopsy becomes necessary, the following practices should be adopted:
Washing hands is one of the most important things one can do to protect oneself from the virus. Follow this routine as put by experts.
Confirmed cases of coronavirus touched 31 in Maharashtra, with five new cases being reported from Pimpri Chinchwad. Four of these were in contact with a group from Dubai and one had returned from Phuket in Thailand.
Donald Trump tweeted that the White House is working with states and local governments, "many of whom have done a great job" on COVID-19.
In view of COVID-19 outbreak, all malls across Maharashtra to remain closed. Maharashtra has also framed regulations for prevention of COVID-19, named "The Maharashtra COVID-19 Regulations 2020."
Delhi's first coronavirus patient, a resident of Mayur Vihar, has been discharged from hospital after recovery.
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to SAARC leaders to participate in a video conference to discuss the rapidly spreading coronavirus, the Ministry of External Affairs Sunday said a call has been scheduled at 5 pm Sunday. Leaders of all eight countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — are expected to participate. Read more...
The Padma Award ceremonies scheduled to be held on March 26 and April 3 have been postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Saturday. The Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian honours of the country, are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Padma Award ceremonies scheduled for March 26 and April 3 stand postponed, a Home Ministry official said. The Padma Awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day. Read more...
Till date, 3722 travelers from corona affected countries have been identified and tracked by District Surveillance Units and all have been placed under surveillance, the Uttar Pradesh government said in its latest bulletin. 1051 travelers being tracked today are under home isolation, 14 are admitted at different health facilities.
Four suspected patients who had left Nagpur hospital without permission and returned later test negative for coronavirus.
Leaders from SAARC nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — will hold a video conference at 5 pm Sunday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the same to tackle the pandemic in the region
Total Covid19 positive patients in state are 26
Pune -10
Mumbai- 5
Kamothe Panvel -1
New Mumbai ( Vashi) -1
Kalyan-1
Thane - 1
Yevatmal- 2
Ahmednagar -1
Nagpur- 4
One Jaipur based 24-year-old man who returned from Spain on March 14th tested positive Saturday, Rajasthan Health Department said. He flew from Madrid to Delhi and then to Jaipur by Air India Flight 491. "We are getting the manifest of both the flights and have started extensive local contact tracing," Rajasthan ACS, Health, Rohit Kumar Singh said.
For the first time in over 1,700 years of its existence, the famous temple of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala has put curbs on visits by pilgrims due to the Covid19. Instead of allowing the thousands of pilgrims to wait in huge compartments for having `darshan’, the Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanams (TTD) will give out tokens with time slots from March 17. The time slotting will ensure that not more than 4,000 pilgrims are present inside the temple complex at any given time and they would standing in various queues instead of waiting in the compartments where thousands are bunched together.
TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal said these steps were necessary in view of the coronavirus outbreak. "We had also decided to take some steps and also state government asked us to initiate measures to prevent any coronavirus spreads here. Tirumala happens to be the most populated pilgrim centre with the highest congregation of pilgrims, and we have contemplated some measures to prevent any outbreak here," he added.
Assam government has directed all schools, colleges, and higher educational institutions to cancel ‘Morning Assembly’, exhibitions, excursions till April 15, 2020. In the order signed by Preetom Saikia, Commissioner and Secretary to the Assam Government, teachers have been asked to ensure students undertake “preventive interventions” such as frequent hand wash that should start with the commencement of classes, respiratory etiquettes (using handkerchiefs while sneezing etc.) and avoid gatherings. While the state has not announced the closure of any educational institutions, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted Saturday that the government will take a “holistic view of the issue” and will respond to the situation appropriately. There have been no positive COVID-19 cases reported in the state so far.
Spanish media reported Saturday that Spain's government will announce that it is placing tight restrictions on movement for the nation of 46 million people while declaring a two-week state of emergency to fight the sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
News agency Europa Press and daily newspaper El Mundo reported the drastic step shortly before Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to address the nation.
Health authorities in Spain said Saturday that coronavirus infections have reached 5,753 people, half of them in the capital, Madrid. That represents a national increase of over 1,500 in 24 hours. (AP)
Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava has asked all the DCPs to arrange masks and sanitisers for all the police personnel of Delhi Police and suggested preventive measures to them against coronavirus.
A health ministry official said a Mahan Air flight bringing back Indian passengers from Iran would land in Mumbai on Saturday midnight. "A special Air India flight is being sent to Milan in Italy on Saturday to bring back Indian students," PTI quoted the official as saying.
IIT Delhi students leave for home as the institute decides to shut down in the wake of coronavirus scare. (Express photos by Tashi Tobgyal)