People with symptoms queue outside a Novel Coronavirus facilitation centre at the RML hospital in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
As the total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in India climbed to 31 Friday, the Indian Army decided to build quarantine facilities for 1,500 personnel across the country as part of the overall effort by the government to curb the virus. Tentative locations so far include Jaisalmer, Suratgarh, Secundrabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Taking precautionary measures, the Lok Sabha issued an advisory directing members of the Parliament to follow respiratory hygiene.
A man from New Delhi with a travel history to Thailand and Malaysia tested positive, earlier in the day. The Centre, meanwhile, said it was fully prepared to bring back the Indians stranded in Tehran and Qom on special Air India flights. After China, Iran is one of the worst affected countries in terms of positive coronavirus cases.
Coronavirus, which first broke out in China’s Wuhan province, has now reached 80 countries and claimed over 3,000 lives across the globe. On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the US economy might take a hit from the outbreak but predicted the challenge would eventually pass and defended his handling of the crisis. Asked if the coronavirus outbreak hurt the economy, he said: “It certainly might have an impact. At the same time, I have to say people are now staying in the United States spending their money in the US, and I like that.” “It’s going to all work out. Everybody has to be calm,” he said. “We have plans for every single possibility and I think that’s what we have to do. We hope it doesn’t last too long.”
A worker wearing a protective gear sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak, in the departure terminal at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, on Thursday. (AP)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the coronavirus status in the country Saturday morning.
A 41-year-old man, hailing from Assam, was detected with fever at the Imphal airport in Manipur resulting in a panic situation. The man recently visited Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and had reached Kolkata on February 28 before coming to Imphal. Based on his travel history and the fever, he was immediately confined at the airport by an official of the health department assigned to screen passengers.
The World Health Organisation has urged all governments to pull out "all the stops" to "push this virus back".
“This is not a drill. This is not the time for giving up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans."
Telangana government has urged the Centre to supply N-95 masks as part of measures to deal with COVID-19, citing shortage. State Health Minister E Rajenderalso appealed to the Centre to establish another lab to test samples for the virus. A 25-year-old software professional tested positive of the virus on Monday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said if any employee of airlines, ground staff provider or Airport Authority of India is detected with symptoms of fever, cough, cold, running nose, congested eyes, they shall be removed from duty and undergo a detailed examination.
A total of 29,607 people have been put under the observation of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network for novel coronavirus as on March 5, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed the Lok Sabha.
He aslo informed 654 people were brought from Wuhan in China on February 1 and 2, and kept in quarantine at Army Camp in Haryana's Manesar and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Camp at Chhawla in Delhi for 14 days.
In the United Kingdom (UK), a second person dies of the coronavirus, Reuters reported, while the Vatican reported its first case, One Vatican official was put into a protective quarantine after a priest from France's Catholic church in Rome tested positive for the virus. The official is not showing symptoms of COVID-19 disease but lives in the same church as the infected priest.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked chief ministers of party-ruled states to ensure an effective response, preparedness measures for tackling coronavirus. "Consider awareness campaigns, helplines, advisories to avoid public gatherings in view of COVID-19," Sonia wrote to the CMs.
She further directed the CMs to set up quarantine facilities urgently in their states, adding that public healthcare responders should receive all support to carry out their duties effectively. "Protocols for contact identification must be put in place," she said.
Peru has recorded its first confirmed case of coronavirus, President Martin Vizcarra said. The patient is a 25-year-old man who had traveled to Spain, France and the Czech Republic, Vizcarra added.
The South-West Delhi DM has ordered the government and private hospitals to set aside 10 per cent beds for the COVID-19 patients. "As you are aware that there is an emergency situation of COVID-19 in Delhi. Therefore, all government and private hospitals need to create the facility of isolation beds for COVID-19 patients, that is 10 per cent of the total bed capacity of all government and private hospitals under SWD," the order stated.
The World Cup of shooting has been postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has also impacted the Olympic preparations of the country's top athletes. The event was to be held from March 15 to 25 in Delhi, while an Olympic Test event in Tokyo, scheduled from April 16, stood cancelled.
Indian rupee plunges 46 paise to 73.79 against dollar amid mounting concerns over coronavirus, according to PTI.
The Beating Retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab will be conducted without public presence due to coronavirus, the Border Security Force said. The precautionary measure will be effective from Saturday.
The Border Security Force (BSF) will continue performing the ceremonial duty of lowering the flag and other drills, a spokesperson of the border guarding force said. "As per government guidelines, congregations are to be avoided. Hence visitors and spectators to the ceremony will not be entertained. The ceremony will be conducted without spectators," he said.
Egypt has said that it detected 12 new coronavirus cases on Nile cruise boat heading to the southern city of Luxor from Aswan, news agency AFP said. The country had until now diagnosed three people with the virus, one of whom it said had fully recovered after receiving treatment
Seven family members of a man who tested positive for coronavirus after his visit to Thailand have been quarantined at their residence in west Delhi, PTI quoted a health official as saying.
"The family of the patient comprising his wife, parents, brother, sister-in-law and their two kids has been home quarantined. Their samples have been taken for testing," the Delhi government health official said. "The patient, his wife, brother and sister-in-law worked from home," the official said.
In Iran, 17 new deaths have been reported taking the toll to 124 amind 4,747 confirmed cases as authorities warned they may use "force" to limit travel between cities.
After China, Iran and Italy have the world's highest death toll.
The 13 Italian tourists kept in isolation overnight at a hotel in Amritsar, have shown no symptoms of the virus during the medical check-up done on Friday and were allowed to leave for Delhi, Sub Divisional Magistrate Vikas Hira told PTI over the phone.
People stand in a queue for homeopathy medicine said to help prevent COVID-19, at a government hospital in Hyderabad. (AP photo: Mahesh Kumar A.)
A security officer wears a mask outside a special ward set aside for possible COVID-19 patients, in Mumbai. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A social activist distributes masks to pedestrians at the landmark Charminar in Hyderabad. (AP photo: Mahesh Kumar A.)
The central government has asked employees to not mark attendance through Aadhaar-based biometric systems installed in ministries till March 31. They are to mark attendance in registers instead.
Netherlands report first Coronavirus death, news agency AFP news agency quoted health officials. The 86-year-old man died in hospital in the port city of Rotterdam amid 82 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The University Grant Commission(UGC) has instructed students and staff members with travel history to coronavirus-affected countries to stay at home and self-quarantine for 14 days. It has further directed universities to avoid large gatherings on campus.
The Delhi government, meanwhile, has directed schools to suspend the morning assembly in view of coronavirus.
People wear masks to protect themselves from the virus at IGMC Hospital, Shimla on Thursday. A suspected coronavirus patient was admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla on Tuesday night. (Express Photo: Pradeep Kumar)
The Army has also issued a detailed advisory for military stations, army formations and service hospitals.
- Local Military authorities will exercise suitable control to avoid/postpone all non- essential mass gatherings like festivals, welfare activities and public gatherings till the situation improves.
- Regular health information education and counseling activities to be carried out at all military stations
- Military hospitals to establish isolation wards & have separate OPDs for screening of symptomatic cases to prevent avoidable transmission. Service hospitals will work in synergy with local civil medical authorities and designated ICMR labs.
- Service personnel to be encouraged to utilise Shopping Complex facilities within the Cantonment /Military Stations and avoid visits to crowded areas like movie halls/ shopping malls etc
- All non-essential foreign travel to be avoided.
The Indian Army will establish quarantine facilities for 1,500 personnel, which will across the country as part of the overall effort by the government to curb coronavirus. Tentative locations so far include Jaisalmer, Suratgarh, Secundrabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
People with symptoms queue outside a Novel Coronavirus facilitation centre at the RML hospital in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
The upcoming combined shooting World Cup in New Delhi was on Friday postponed, while an Olympic test event in Tokyo stood cancelled due to the global novel Coronavirus outbreak, news agency PTI reported. The tournament, sanctioned by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), was to be held from March 15 to 25 in the capital's Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
As a precautionary measure, the Lok Sabha has issued an advisory for its members to maintain respiratory hygiene and avoid large gatherings within the precincts of Parliament House Estate.
'Simple public health measures of hand and respiratory hygiene be practiced,' it read.
'Visitors other than those, which are essential for official or operational reasons, may be strictly restricted.'
The government is in talks with Iranian authorities to bring back Indians from the Persian Gulf country, senior officials said on Friday. A flight from Iran is expected to land in the country tonight and would be bringing around 300 swabs of Indians there who are suspected of having coronavirus, they said.
The first flight from Iran with swabs of Indians stranded there will return with 24 hours, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh said today.
"The government is in talks with the Iranian government to bring back the Indians. We are fully geared up to screen passengers and also follow up cases, amid coronavirus outbreak," Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters today.
National carrier Air India, which flew home Indian nationals from China, will evacuate Indians stranded in Iran. The flight will bring back Indians who test negative in Tehran and Qom.
US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an 8.3 billion dollar measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak. The legislation would provide federal public health agencies money for vaccines, tests and potential treatments, and help state and local governments prepare for and respond to the threat. The Senate passed the measure Thursday to help tackle the outbreak in hopes of reassuring a fearful public and accelerating the government's response to the virus. Its rapid spread is threatening to upend everyday life in the US and across the globe. The money would pay for a multifaceted attack on a virus that is spreading more widely every day, sending financial markets spiralling again Thursday, disrupting travel and potentially threatening the US economy's decade-long expansion.
A 13-member group of tourists from Italy have been quarantined at a hotel in Amritsar and have been asked to not go out till their medical examination is completed, an official told PTI. They reached Amritsar on Thursday night, the official added. “They have been quarantined at their hotel rooms,” Amritsar Civil Surgeon Prabhdeep Kaur told PTI over phone. We are conducting a proper medical examination, she said adding that they have been asked to not leave the hotel till their medical examination gets over as a precautionary measure. “If any of them are found symptomatic (for coronavirus), then samples will be taken,” she pointed out.
"One suspected COVID19 case has been confirmed as positive. The patient is from Delhi. He has a travel history to Thailand and Malaysia. He is stable and being monitored. The total number of confirmed cases in India now stands at 31," a health ministry official said.
The patient in Delhi is stable and under observation.
Another person from Delhi tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. The patient, who is stable now and is being monitored, had travelled to Thailand and Malaysia. The total number of cases has now risen to 31.
China's central province of Hubei, excluding the provincial capital Wuhan, reported zero new cases of coronavirus over 24 hours for the first time during the outbreak, as authorities continued to contain imported infections in other parts of the country, Reuters reported. Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, reported 126 new confirmed cases on Thursday but there were no new infections in the province apart from those, the National Health Commission said on Friday. Elsewhere in China, schools in provinces reporting no new cases for a number of days, started to set their opening dates in a sign of the country returning to normal.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said that there was no confirmed case of coronavirus infection in the state and urged people not to panic. “No confirmed case of coronavirus infection has been found in Maharashtra so far. There is no need to panic or wear masks,” said Thackeray, while addressing the media on Thursday, adding that there is no shortage of masks. Thackeray said the state was prepared to deal with the situation. “We also tackled swine flu earlier and people should stick to the advisory issued by the government,” he added. “People should stay alert for next 10-15 days and avoid crowds at public places. I also request people to limit their Holi celebration and avoid being part of gatherings,” he added.
A Twenty20 league in Nepal, which was to feature West Indies swashbuckler Chris Gayle among others, has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus threat, the organisers of the event have said. According to a report in 'ESPNCricinfo', the Everest Premier League (EPL), which was to start on March 14, would be rescheduled for "the closest possible time whenever the situation is favourable". The tournament was to feature the likes of Gayle, home star Sandeep Lamichhane and Mohammad Shahzad among others. Nepal has only one confirmed case of coronavirus so far. The country's health ministry has, however, asked for a suspension of gatherings to minimise the risk of a spread.
As many as 14 passengers from coronavirus-affected countries and showing symptoms of the virus were hospitalised Thursday, data collated by the Delhi government’s health department stated. The death toll globally rose to 3,285 Thursday, with over 95,481 confirmed cases. Over 53,000 people have recovered, leaving about 38,508 active reported cases. The health department, in a statement, said, “Till date,1,30,332 travellers from coronavirus-affected countries have been screened at the Delhi airport and placed under surveillance. Out of this, 6,094 passengers stayed in Delhi; 5,994 passengers were approached by the state and put on surveillance; and 4,602 passengers were found asymptomatic and advised home isolation (self-quarantine). Symptomatic patients — 29 of them, including two positive cases in the capital and the 14 hospitalised today — were admitted to designated hospitals.” Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain visited Lok Nayak Hospital Wednesday evening to take stock of preparations. The state-run hospital has earmarked 11 separate rooms and isolation wards for patients.
As fears of the coronavirus pandemic led the Delhi government on Thursday to order the immediate closure of primary schools in the national capital till March 31, some school principals in Mumbai said they have been asked by parents to “take action”. Nitin Padte, director of Mainadevi Bajaj International School in Mumbai, said he received a letter from a parent on Thursday requesting that the pre-primary section of the school be closed down. “It is likely that we may have to take action in the coming days. If there are positive cases in Delhi, it is impossible to imagine that Mumbai will be unaffected. While we are watching the situation, there is a sense of pre-panic. We have sent notices to parents asking them not to send children to school if they have a cold and cough,” said Padte. The BMC education department on Thursday issued an advisory to all schools along with informative posters to be stuck in each school to sensitize students about precautionary measures.
The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at their lowest levels since September 2019 on Friday tracking a sell-off in the global markets as fresh fear about the spread of the coronavirus and its economic impact affected investor sentiments. The S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 1,459.52 points (3.79 per cent) to 37,011.09, while the broader Nifty 50 crashed 441.60 points (3.92 per cent) to 10,827.40 during the early deals on Friday. All the Sensex stocks were trading in a sea of red. Among the biggest contributors to Friday morning’s loss were HDFC twins comprising of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and HDFC Bank, oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries (RIL), ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India (SBI).
The US death toll from the coronavirus rose to 12 on Thursday and 53 new cases broke out across the country. More than 3,200 people worldwide have died from the respiratory illness that can lead to pneumonia. Trump has faced criticism from Democrats for not having the country properly prepared for the possibility of a pandemic. "I think people are viewing us as having done a very good job. What we have to do is do a professional job. Nobody is blaming us for the virus," he said. "This started in China."
Facebook Inc said a Seattle worker has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, the first known infection within the company as the pathogen continues to spread in the region. The employee, a contractor, was last in Facebook’s Stadium East office in Seattle on Feb 21. The company alerted employees Wednesday night and said the Seattle office will be closed to all employees until March 9. Employees in Seattle are also being encouraged to work from home until the end of the month. “A contractor based in our Stadium East office has been diagnosed with the COVID-19,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ve notified our employees and are following the advice of public health officials to prioritize everyone’s health and safety.”
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday the coronavirus outbreak is set to trim economic growth in developing Asia and around the world this year. More than 3,200 people worldwide have died from the respiratory illness that can lead to pneumonia, hurting financial markets and damaging economies. The outbreak could slash global gross domestic product by 0.1 to 0.4%, with financial losses forecast to reach between $77 billion and $347 billion, the Manila-based lender said. Economic growth in China and developing Asia, excluding China, could be trimmed by 0.3 to 1.7% and 0.2 to 0.5%, respectively, the ADB said in an analysis that outlined best- and worst-case scenarios. The ADB said the coronavirus outbreak could lead to sharp declines in domestic demand, tourism and business travel, trade and production linkages, supply disruptions, hurting growth in developing Asia.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday the US economy might take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak but predicted the challenge would eventually pass and defended his handling of the crisis. Asked if the coronavirus outbreak hurt the economy, Trump said: “It certainly might have an impact. At the same time, I have to say people are now staying in the United States spending their money in the US, and I like that.” “It’s going to all work out. Everybody has to be calm," he said. "We have plans for every single possibility and I think that's what we have to do. We hope it doesn't last too long."
The coronavirus outbreak radiated across the United States on Thursday, surfacing in at least four new states and San Francisco as Congress quickly approved more than $8 billion to fight the outbreak, Reuters reported. The death toll from the respiratory illness rose to 12 in the United States, with the latest fatality recorded in King County, Washington, where six people have died in an outbreak at a nursing facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. “President Trump wanted me to be here today to make it crystal clear that we are with you. We are here to help,” Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to the Seattle area, where he met with Governor Jay Inslee and other state officials. At least 57 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed nationwide on Thursday as the virus struck for the first time in Colorado, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas, as well as the city of San Francisco. At least several people suffering from the virus are said to be gravely ill.
Claiming that the situation arising out of seven coronavirus cases in the state is under control, the UP government on Thursday said its focus has now shifted from prevention of the disease to containment of the virus, and urged people not to panic. Addressing mediapersons here, Minister for Medical, Health and Family Welfare, Jai Pratap Singh, said that so far, 175 people have been tested for novel coronavirus in the state with 157 of them showing no sign of infection. Among the rest 18, seven have tested positive, while the initial test report of 11 is awaited, the minister said, referring to the six positive cases from Agra and the latest one positive case from Ghaziabad. All the seven have been admitted to nodal hospitals in Delhi. Speaking about the preparations to combat any outbreak of COVID-19, the minister said that 820 beds have been kept in isolation in district hospitals for the treatment of patients. “The situation is under control. As many as 820 isolation beds have been prepared at various hospitals. Seven medical colleges have been alerted,” he said.
The Indian poultry industry is fervently opposing allowing any access to imported chicken meat, especially frozen leg pieces, from the US. But it has a more immediate problem at hand, having to do with the novel coronavirus originating from China and causing estimated losses of $1 billion. Since early-January, farmgate prices of broiler birds in Maharashtra have crashed from over Rs 80 per kg to Rs 30-32 levels, driven purely by fears over poultry meat consumption posing the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection. This, despite the Union Animal Husbandry Commissioner Praveen Malik clarifying, in a communication dated February 10, that poultry products have “not been found to be involved in transmission of 2019-nCov (novel coronavirus) to humans so far in any report globally”. He added that past outbreaks of coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2002-03 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2012-13) or corona-associated common colds “had no involvement of poultry or poultry products world over”.
Days after 16 of 21 Italian tourists who arrived from Jaipur and checked in to The Suryaa hotel in New Friends Colony on March 2 tested positive for coronavirus, 8-10 employees who came in contact with them have been under home quarantine since March 3. Hotel spokesperson Vani Wadhwa said they checked the tourists out the same day. “As per instructions, the rooms have to be sealed for 72 hours; they are still sealed. The employees they came in contact with show no symptoms, so they haven’t been tested yet, but they will be under home quarantine for 14 days.” The tourists had landed in India on February 21 and left for Jaipur by bus. She said the hotel has thermal scanners at the entryway, staff is equipped with masks and surgical gloves, and lifts and other areas such as staircases are sanitised every hour.
A day after a 26-year-old man working at the Paytm office in Gurgaon tested positive for coronavirus, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the district said the samples of four others who worked closely with him have also been sent for testing. The office in Gurgaon’s Sector 54 is closed, and 91 other employees found asymptomatic have been home quarantined. CMO Dr Jaswant Singh Punia said the man who tested positive is a resident of Delhi and had gone to Italy for his honeymoon trip. He got himself tested at RML Hospital on March 2 as a precaution upon his return. “He did not show any symptoms but has been isolated at AIIMS,” said the CMO.
In the first impact of coronavirus on diplomatic engagements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Brussels to attend the India-EU summit, which has been postponed amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The summit was scheduled for March 13. The first coronavirus cases struck the EU institutions on Wednesday. An official at the general secretariat of the EU council of member-states tested positive for COVID-19 following local transmission in Belgium. On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “With regard to the proposed India-EU Summit, both sides have agreed that due to health authorities advising against travel between regions, it would be wise to reschedule the Summit to a later mutually convenient date. The decision has been taken in the spirit of the close cooperation between India and the EU who share the same concerns and commitment to global health and hope that the outbreak is contained soon.”
With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India touching 30, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Thursday reviewed the status of screening of people coming to India from neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, security at the borders in the Northeast has been tightened. Sources said the Nathu La pass has been sealed and Sikkim is not allowing foreigners to enter the state. “Home Secretary held a video conference with Chief Secretary/Additional Chief Secretary and DGP/ Additional DGP of States viz., Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Punjab, besides Secretary Border Management and DsG of BSF/SSB,” an MHA statement said. Home Ministry officials said the states have informed the home secretary that doctors are conducting regular screening at various transit points and the community in border areas has been sensitised through gram sabhas about the precautions to be taken.
An Intel Corporation employee, who has been under observation after his roommate in Bengaluru tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection on March 2, is likely to be removed from the observation list on Friday after showing no signs of infection. The 24-year-old software engineer may be asked to remain in home isolation for two more weeks as precaution. The Intel employee had self reported his close contact with a data scientist from another company, with whom he shared a flat in southeast Bengaluru, after the data scientist tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
South Korea confirmed a total of 6,284 coronavirus cases on Friday, up by 196 cases from late Thursday, Reuters reported. The Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention also said seven more deaths from the virus were reported, bringing the total to 42.
Britain has recorded its first death in the new coronavirus outbreak, AFP quoted England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said on Thursday.
"I am very sorry to report a patient in England who tested positive for COVID-19 has sadly died," he said in a statement, adding the patient at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, west of London, was elderly and had "underlying health conditions".
The test reports of 68 people who had come in contact with the Italian couple, who tested positive for the new coronavirus earlier this week, have come out negative, PTI reported a senior health department official as saying on Thursday. Test results of eight more people are awaited, the official said.
As fear about coronavirus spreads in the city, doctors from the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) assert that taking adequate precaution is the best way to tackle the disease. Dr J S Thakur from the department of community medicine and school of public health in Chandigarh at PGIMER claims that as of now there is no cure and set treatment for the disease. Therefore, precaution is the best way forward. “The best and most effective precaution is, as WHO has highlighted, wash your hands thoroughly and regularly, and make sure to maintain distance from those who are coughing, sneezing or showing any other sign of being sick with some sort of infection,” Thakur says. “Handwashing is 90 per cent of your work done in terms of protecting yourself from the disease.” Read more...
Paytm has shut its Gurgaon office for up to a fortnight after one of its employees tested positive for coronavirus, the company said, as it looked to contain the spread of infection to other employees. On Wednesday, Paytm had said one of its employee in Gurgaon — who recently returned from a vacation in Italy - tested positive for novel coronavirus. It had also advised employees to work from home for the next couple of days. (PTI)
Primary classes (I to V) of all Kendriya Vidyalayas in Delhi to remain closed till March 31, in the light of the order issued by Delhi Govt for prevention of spread of COVID-19