Coronavirus Live Updates: India Puts Itself Under Near-Total Lockdown As Global Death Count Nears 5,000 (Photo Credit: ANI/Twitter)
New Delhi:
Coronavirus LIVE UPDATES: As the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak as ‘pandemic’, India announced a near total lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of deadly COVID-19 disease. For the first time in recent memory, India has suspended all visas. There are a few exceptions. Officials from the United Nations, the WHO and other diplomats will continue to get the Indian visas. The traffic on the international land borders have also been restricted. Latest tally shows that 1,26, 135 people have been infected from coronavirus across the world. Over 4,600 people have died due to the COVID-19 disease. Maximum deaths have been reported from China. On international scale, after China, Italy is the worst-affected country. From Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson testing positive for coronavirus to Twitter announcing all employees to work from home, here are latest coronavirus updates with special focus on India
76-yr-old man from Kalaburagi who passed away&was a suspected COVID-19 patient has been confirmed positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing, isolation&other measures being taken. Telangana Govt. has also been informed as he went to a hospital: Commissioner, Karnataka Health Dept
Cabinet discussed and we are of the view that big gatherings should be avoided. We have two options, IPL should be done without spectators or else matches should be postponed: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on IPL
Cabinet discussed and we are of the view that big gatherings should be avoided. We have two options, IPL should be done without spectators or else matches should be postponed: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on IPL
The number of coronavirus patients in the country has risen to 74 with 14 fresh cases, including nine from Maharashtra and one each from Delhi, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh as well as one foreign national, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.
One more person has tested positive for the coronavirus here, taking the number of confirmed patients of the disease in the city to nine, a senior official said on Thursday.
Since the evacuees have already traveled together, the aspect of individual quarantine for 14 days may not find much merit. Despite differing individual preferences and demands, the army has gone about doing their job in the best possible way: Sources
Coronavirus: Second, third ODI between India-SA likely to be played behind closed doors.
All cinema halls to remain shut in Delhi till 31st March. Schools and colleges where exams are not being held will also remain closed: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Number of people coming to India dropped by 40 per cent in last 20 days; the number will come down further, says MEA.
Iran announces 75 new coronavirus deaths, taking total to 429: AFP
"Govt is fully vigilant about the situation due to COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Across ministries&states, multiple steps have been proactively taken to ensure safety of all. These steps are wide-ranging, from suspension of Visas to augmenting healthcare capacities," tweets PM Modi
Say No to Panic, Say Yes to Precautions. No Minister of Central Government will travel abroad in the upcoming days. I urge our countrymen to also avoid non-essential travel. We can break the chain of spread and ensure safety of all by avoiding large gatherings: PM Modi
We have managed to isolate the coronavirus, we have 11 such isolates. Vaccines will take a minimum of 1.5 to 2 years: Indian Council of Medical Research
Right now, luckily for India we do not have any community transmission. We have only a few cases that have come from outside & they have primarily affected their close family members, says Aggarwal.
Do not see a need to include private sector testing facilities at this point of time, says Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary (Health Ministry).
‘We have managed all the cases symptomatically, they are responding positively,’ says health ministry official.
Mask is not always necessary, if a person maintains effective social distance, mask is not needed. There is no need to panic, says health ministry official.
We already have around 1 lakh testing kits available, additional testing kits have already been ordered and they are also in procurement, says health ministry official.
52 testing facilities are located across the country. There are a total of 56 sample collection centers, says ministry official.
Visa-free travel facility granted to Overseas Citizen Of India (OCI) cardholders are kept in abeyance till 15th April 2020. This will come into effect from 1200 GMT on 13th March 2020 at the port of departure, says ministry official.
So far, the Government of India has evacuated 900 Indian citizens along with 48 belonging to other nations like Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, US, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, and Peru, says health ministry official.
Indian nationals are strongly advised to refrain from non-essential travel, says Special Health Secretary Sanjeeva Kumar.
Indian Customs has barred passengers arriving from 15 nations, including China, the US, Italy and South Korea, from entering duty-free shopping area at the Delhi airport in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
1 more person with travel history to Iran tests positive for coronavirus in Ladakh, number of confirmed cases in UT rises to 3.
Peak of current outbreak is over, says China's National Health Commission.
Asian Development Bank has asked its employees at its Manila headquarter to work from home after a visitor to the bank tested positive for COVID-19.
Even now, despite this being such a big task, activities are being coordinated at 51 laboratories across the country and collection centres at 56 locations, says Harsh Vardhan.
‘Things are under control, we need your cooperation,’ Heath Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan tells Lok Sabha.
Another person tests positive for coronavirus infection in UP’s Ghaziabad. Chief Medical Officer Narendra Gupta has confirmed that the patient has been kept in an isolated ward.
South America's football federations has asked FIFA to delay their qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because of the global new coronavirus pandemic.
Total number of confirmed COVID 2019 cases in India at 73, says Union Health Ministry.
'All national federations, including BCCI, are asked to follow Health Ministry's advisory and avoid large gatherings, keeping in mind the coronavirus outbreak. We have sent the advisory to everyone,' Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The number of international passengers arriving at the country's airports has reduced to around 62,000 per day from 70,000 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, two students from Maharashtra's Amravati district are stranded in Italy, prompting their parents to urge the local MP to facilitate their safe return to India.
The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) has decided to put on hold all national and state championships till April 15, keeping in mind government directions to avoid large gatherings in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The PCI was scheduled to host national para-athletics championship in Mysore from March 26-28 and national swimming championship from March 28-20 in Bengaluru.
South Korea confirmed six new deaths and 114 more cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the national death count to 66 and the total confirmed cases to 7,869.
011-23978046: In India, this number should be on your speed dial!
Good morning!
Please make note of the Central 24x7 Helpline number for information and support on #COVID19 and share with others too. #SwasthaBharat#HelpUsToHelpYou pic.twitter.com/SyBJvCE0TA
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 12, 2020
Juventus and Italy defender Daniele Rugani became the first Serie A footballer to test positive for coronavirus, the Italian champions confirmed.The 25-year-old "is currently asymptomatic," the Turin giants said, but the club is "currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him."
With the coronavirus epidemic hurting economic activities globally, the World Economic Forum has launched a new platform with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to convene the global business community for a collective action on the COVID-19 response.
Two employees working with IT companies Dell and Mindtree have been tested positive for coronavirus, according to company statements. The Dell employee had returned from the US, including a visit to Texas while the Mindtree employee also had a travel history abroad, the two companies said in separate statements.
In a sort of relief to Kerala, no fresh cases of coronavirus was reported on Wednesday a day after it saw eight people testing positive, taking the total cases to 14 in the state. At least 3,313 people are under observation -- 3,020 under home quarantine and 293 in isolation wards at various hospitals, officials said.
Samples of 44 persons have tested negative for novel coronavirus infection in Chhattisgarh, a health department official said.
The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow has decided to postponed its convocation ceremony scheduled for March 21 with Union Health Ministry's advisories urging to avoid large gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak.
National carrier Air India has announced temporary suspension of its flight services to Rome, Milan and Seoul. While services to Rome (Italy) are being discontinued from March 15 to March 25, flight operations to Milan (Italy) and Seoul in South Korea will remain suspended between March 14 and March 28, an airline official said.
The coronavirus cases in Pakistan have risen to 20 with a 14-year-old boy being tested positive for COVID-19 in Gilgit Baltistan, a health official said.
Hollywood legend Tom Hanks has revealed that he and wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The actor couple, currently in Australia to shoot for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film as per Deadline, decided to get tested after they felt "a bit tired".
Amazon has beefed up paid leave for workers quarantined due to the novel coronavirus or diagnosed with the COVID-19 illness. The company also announced creation of an Amazon Relief Fund -- starting at USD 25 million -- to serve as a pool of grant money for independent delivery drivers, seasonal employees and others losing paychecks due to the pandemic, according to the global internet retailer.
With global economic activities and supply of essential goods hit due to the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is dependent on "supply lines" from various countries and he has spoken to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser has declared a state of emergency as the number of identified coronavirus cases in the nation's capital reached 10 and officials recommended gatherings of 1,000 or more people be postponed or cancelled.
EU president Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the urgency of the new coronavirus pandemic has forced her to postpone her visit to Greece to tackle migration.
Australia has unveiled a massive US$11 billion spending plan designed to curb the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and avert the country's first recession in 29 years. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the nearly Aus$18 billion package -- equivalent to just under one percent of GDP -- which will primarily be targeted at businesses.
The NBA will suspend play starting on Thursday after a Utah Jazz player preliminarily tested positive for the new coronavirus. The test result was reported shortly before Utah's game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was to begin, and that game was abruptly postponed.
Equities and oil prices fell through the floor again on Thursday after Donald Trump banned all travel from Europe to the US for a month to fight the coronavirus, ramping up fears the global economy will careen into recession. As the disease showed no signs of abating, claiming more lives and infecting more people around the world, the US president said in a rare address to the nation that the ban would be in place for 30 days.
