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: 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)
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)
Four journalists, who had interviewed the son of the person who died after testing positive for novel coronavirus, have been quarantined on Saturday, in Kalaburagi, North Karnataka.
Sharat S, Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi, said, “Four journalists have come into contact with the primary contacts. As per the government's medical precautionary directions, they have been quarantined at their residences.” The interview video, posted on the Facebook page of Gulbarga Live, a local TV channel on Friday has gone viral.
In view of coronavirus outbreak, Pune University (SPPU) bans morning and evening walk on the campus. No entry for outsiders.
Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has pledged to donate two million protective masks for distribution across Europe, with a first consignment arriving in Belgium late on Friday.
A cargo plane loaded with 500,000 masks and other medical supplies such as test kits landed at Liege Airport. The consignment will be sent to Italy, a joint statement by the Alibaba and Jack Ma foundations, the Belgian region of Wallonia and Liege Airport said. (Reuters)
A police constable of the Manipur Police department was placed under suspension for misconduct for spreading false information about the confirmation of coronavirus infection in the state. Aheibam Ranjan Singh, a driver of an additional SP, was suspended on Friday by an order issued by the Superintendent of Police and an inquiry has been initiated against him.
Cinema halls, gyms in Maharashtra closed after CM Uddhav Thackeray's announcement. (Amit Chakravarty)
In West Bengal, there have not been any confirmed cases so far, four people have been kept under observation in isolation. IIT Kharagpur has suspended classes and exams till March 31.
One more person from Nagpur and two from Yavatmal have tested positive for corona virus, taking the total confirmed number of affected persons in the region to six. Amravati Divisional Commissioner Piyush Singh told The Indian Express, "Two of the samples sent to Nagpur for test have turned out to be positive while seven others have tested negative for corona virus." Nine persons were quarantined in Yavatmal's Government Medical College on Thursday after one person, who had traveled with them to Dubai last month, had tested positive at Pune, where he had gone after separating from the group on March 1.
Mumbai Metro commuters, as well as employees, wear masks during travel and at work amid COVID-19 scare in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
Denmark is closing all its borders to travelers in a bid to tackle the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Danish government said late Friday that the country will close its borders _ land, sea and air _ at midday on Saturday until April 13. All passenger traffic to and from Denmark will be stopped.
Travelers will be turned away at the border unless they can show that they have ``a legitimate reason`` to be there, such as that they are Danish citizens or foreign nationals living and working in the country. (AP)
The new coronavirus outbreak has claimed another 97 lives in Iran, pushing the country's death toll to 611 amid 12,729 confirmed cases, Iranian state TV reported Saturday. Iran is the worst sufferer of COVID-19 in the Middleast. The virus has also infected a number of senior officials there.
Saudi Arabia earlier said it would halt all international flights to the kingdom for two weeks in the latest effort to contain the spread of the new virus.
Gulf nations have been scrambling to contain the pandemic, which has spread to more than 100 countries and infected more than 130,000 people. Of special concern is nearby Iran. (AP)
“Anybody but doctors can work from home,” smiles Dr Jayanthi Shastri, head of BMC-run Kasturba Hospital’s laboratory, where each day over 60 samples are being tested. Within its walls, the quite laboratory has managed to shut out the panic the highly transmissible virus has caused in public, with everyone continuing to do their assigned tasks in an orderly way.
It was early January when Dr Chandrakant Pawar, superintendent of Kasturba Hospital the nodal facility for diagnosing and treating COVID-19 in Mumbai started preparing for the outbreak because China, he says, is “dangerously close”. Read more...
Nagpur records one more positive coronavirus case.
India decides to treat COVID-19 as a ‘notified disaster’
Two UK citizens who were suspected to be coronavirus patients were apprehended by the Kerala Police at Kochi airport last night. They were shifted to Ernakulam medical college for further testing and possible quarantine. They had slipped out of Alappuzha MC just before they were to be admitted to the isolation ward. Both of them had symptoms of fever. The cab driver who drove them to the airport has also been put under observation for further tests.
The Ministry of Home Affairs today also listed out a few guidelines on home quarantine.
Disney has announced the closure of its theme park in California in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. "The Hotels of the Disneyland Resort will remain open until Monday, March 16 to give agents the ability to make necessary travel arrangements for their clients. Downtown Disney will remain open. The situation will be monitored and everyone is requested to follow the advice and guidance of federal and state officials and health agencies. Disney will continue to pay cast members during this time. Disneyland Resort will work with all partners if clients wish to change or cancel their visits, and will provide refunds to those clients who have hotel bookings during this closure period," it said in a statement.
Schools in Delhi will remain shut till March 31. (Express photo/Amit Mehra)
The Goa government also announced the closure of all educational institutes till March 31. "Gyms, casinos, public swimming pools, spas and clubs will only remain closed till March 31. We will provide sanitizers for people coming to vote; masks will also be provided to the staff at polling booth," Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
Following the news that the first four races of the Formula 1 season have been cancelled or postponed, the organisers of the Dutch and Spanish Grands Prix have announced they are in consultation with F1 and the FIA about what the situation means for their events. The Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday morning after a member of the McLaren team in Melbourne tested positive for coronavirus.
Kolkata Kight Riders co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday said he is hopeful of the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding and a deferred IPL going ahead with all the necessary health precautions in place. A day after the start of the IPL was suspended from March 29 to April 15 by the BCCI, the franchise owners had a meeting before the event's Governing Council meet here. "Wonderful to meet all the Franchise owners 'off the field' so to say. The meeting by BCCI and IPL was to reiterate what all of us feel...safety first of the spectators, players management & cities we play in. All directives of the health agencies & govt to be followed..," Khan tweeted. "Hope the spread of the virus subsides & the show can go on. BCCI & team owners in consultation with the govt will keep a close watch & decide the way fwd in the health interest of everyone. Lovely to meet everyone and then sanitise ourselves repeatedly," he added.
Another case of coronavirus was confirmed in Telangana on Saturday taking the total number of those infected to two, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said. The patient with travel history to Italy has been admitted to the state-run Gandhi hospital in the city for quarantine purpose, Rao told the assembly. The samples of two others with suspected symptoms of the virus have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, he said. Asserting that his government was taking all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus in the state, the Chief Minister said a meeting of senior officials has been convened to discuss the COVID-19 situation.
The Department of Telecom has relaxed certain norms for Other Service Providers (OSPs) till April 30 to facilitate work from home (WFH) amid the coronavirus outbreak. These include exemptions in requirement of security deposit and agreement for WFH facility for OSPs (IT and IT-enabled services companies), as well as the need for prior permission for offering the facility. Industry body Nasscom and leaders of the IT industry had requested the government to relax the norms to facilitate business continuity that is posing to be a major challenge for the sector. Nasscom, in a tweet on Friday, thanked Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and his team for "the much needed relaxation". "The industry is extremely grateful for this," it said while sharing the government order. According to the order, DoT has decided to grant certain relaxations for a period of up to April 30, 2020 for OSPs in respect of WFH.
A 21-year-old youth, who returned to Pune from the US on March 10, tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Friday, taking the number of cases in the city to 10. Two people from Nagpur, with travel history to the US, a 45-year-old man from Ahmednagar and an elderly woman from Mumbai also tested positive on Friday, as the number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to 19. An official of the state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme told The Indian Express that the contacts of these patients were being “aggressively traced”.
To combat the spread of novel coronavirus, the Indian Railways is steam-cleaning toilets in trains and ensuring the safety of the staff as well as the passengers, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal posted on Twitter.
The West Bengal government has sealed the state's border with Bhutan in the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said on Saturday, PTI reported. The West Bengal Police, which mans the border gate on the Indian side in Jaigaon in Alipurduar district, stopped the movement of goods and travellers from India to Bhutan on Friday evening, the official said. The move comes after Bhutan recently issued a notification to the Alipurduar district administration informing it about a halt in tourist and business activities in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, he said. The Himalayan kingdom had earlier this month banned the entry of foreigners after an American tourist tested positive for the coronavirus.
Two patients were admitted to SSG Hospital in Vadodara on Saturday. (Express photo/Bhupendra Rana)
A Vadodara-based multinational today referred to a Chinese national employee to SSG hospital for suspected symptoms of coronavirus. A 65-year-old was also admitted to the isolation ward of the hospital. He had returned from America and was admitted after suspected symptoms. The samples are collected and send to B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad for testing.
The Infosys on Saturday decided to vacate one of its satellite buildings in Bengaluru after one of its employees came in contact with a suspected COVID-19 case. "Infosys has taken a decision to evacuate one of our satellite buildings as a precautionary measure, as one of our employees had been in contact with an individual with suspected COVID-19. Please note that this is to ensure the safety of our employees and undertake a comprehensive disinfection exercise at our facility. Employees have been directed to work from home, and there is no impact on our client deliverables as a result of this temporary evacuation," a statement by the company read.
A national memorial in New Zealand to commemorate the 51 people who were killed when a gunman attacked two mosques one year ago has been cancelled due to fears over the new coronavirus. Thousands of people were expected to attend the Sunday service in Christchurch to mark the anniversary of the March 15 shooting. New Zealand has had just five confirmed cases of COVID-19, and so far there haven't been signs of a local outbreak. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision announced Saturday was pragmatic and precautionary.
Screening hundreds of passengers arriving from other countries and making sure everyone fills up the travel history form — officials at the IGI Airport have their task cut out. With the number of cases touching six in Delhi and one death reported Friday, airport authorities have stepped up measures to tackle the outbreak. Till March 13, 1,69,303 passengers have been screened. According to an airport official, strict measures are in place for travellers from 15 countries, including a separate entry and baggage collection points. “Passengers from the 15 countries — China, US, Italy, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Spain, France, Vietnam, Nepal, and Thailand — are directed to a separate Airport Health Organisation (APHO) counter. Here, they undergo thermal screening to determine if they are running a temperature or not. In case health officials find that a traveller has fever, they are referred to RML or Safdarjung hospital for a check-up,” said the official, adding that passengers are not allowed into the Delhi duty-free area as well.
As more coronavirus cases are being confirmed from different parts of India, a Bengaluru-based startup has shifted its office 480 kilometers away to a farm located in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu in a bid to keep their employees “safe and away from panic-situations”. The 12-member team of Vumonic Data Labs, which is originally based in HSR Layout in the city, has been working on a farm in Thevaram, a town in Theni district since March 2. “Even though we tried work-from-home options for a couple of days, work became strenuous and employees started developing panic primarily after seeing several people around wearing masks. Some of them even started getting calls from their relatives asking them to get back to their respective hometowns,” Andrea Fernandes, HR Manager of the firm told indianexpress.com
To check the exorbitant prices of face masks and hand sanitisers in view of the coronavirus outbreak, the government on Friday declared the two items as “essential commodity” under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The move paves way for action against offenders under the EC Act as well as Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980 (PBMMSEC Act). Under the EC Act, an offender may be punished with an imprisonment upto seven years or fine or both, whereas under the PBMMSEC Act, an offender can be detained for maximum of 6 months. A statement released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said, “In view (of) the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 and concern of the logistics for COVID-19 management particularly during last couple of weeks and that masks (2 ply & 3 ply surgical masks, N95 masks) and hand sanitizers have been noted to be either not available with most of the vendors in the market or are available with great difficulty at exorbitant prices, Government has notified an Order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare these items as Essential Commodities up to 30th June, 2020 by amending the Schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.”
South China Morning Post provides the latest numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China and has killed more than 4,900 worldwide.
Passersby in Sydney were in for a surprise when a message encouraging people to wash their hands in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak appeared in the sky over Sydney, Australia. The reminder “Wash Hands” reportedly appeared over the Australian sky at around 3 pm and was visible over a wide area of Sydney. The unusual message came to light when Twitter user Chris Dugan took a video and shared it on Twitter.
Twenty one passengers, who were stranded in coronavirus-hit Italy, were brought here on Saturday following which they were shifted to Aluva hospital for investigation, airport sources said. Several Indian passengers have been stuck in the European nation, despite having confirmed tickets. This was after Italian authorities and Emirates airlines refused to take them following a circular issued by the DGCA stipulating that people travelling from Italy or South Korea and desirous of entering India should obtain certificates of having tested negative for COVID-19 from those countries. All of them would be compulsorily shifted to govt hospitals, checked for symptoms. If they are symptomatic, they will be isolated in hospitals, if not, they will be put under mandatory home quarantine.
Iran, which is mired in the worst outbreak in the Middle East, has announced another 85 deaths, pushing its total number of fatalities to 514 amid 11,364 confirmed cases. The real number of cases might be even higher, as questions have been raised about authorities' transparency.
Religious authorities cancelled or limited weekly prayer gatherings across the Middle East on Friday to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as they encouraged the faithful to pray for those afflicted by the global pandemic. Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders in Jerusalem said services would continue to be held in the Holy Land but moved to limit indoor gatherings after the Israeli Health Ministry said they should not exceed 100 people.
The Delhi government has issued regulations to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 5,100 people and affected about 1,40,000 across the globe so far. In Delhi, six confirmed cases of the virus have been reported and the contacts of all cases are being traced and advised isolation depending on their medical condition. One death was reported in the city Friday evening. On Friday, the government issued the Delhi Epidemic Diseases, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020. ‘Epidemic disease’, in this case, refers to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Under the regulations, all hospitals — both government and private — in Delhi must have separate flu corners for screening of suspected cases. Hospitals are being advised to record travel history of each person to ascertain if he or she has travelled to any country or area where COVID-19 has been reported. Also, hospitals will trace the history of anyone who has come in contact with a suspected or confirmed case.
The UNICEF also held a brief question-and-answer session on Facebook to respond to queries on coronavirus.