COVID-19 CASES HIT 107 IN INDIA

71-year-old man from Buldhana suspected to have died of Covid-19 tests negative

Covid-19 positive cases in India touched 107 on Sunday as Maharashtra reported 17 fresh cases, taking the total number in the state to

31. Kerala now has 22.

Maharashtra overtook Kerala as the state recorded the maximum number of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in India on Sunday. With new cases being detected in Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Yavatmal, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Maharashtra spiked from 26 to 33 in Maharashtra. Kerala at present has 22 confirmed

Covid-19 cases.

The number of people infected climbed to 33 on Sunday, with a 59-yearold woman and a man becoming the latest cases.

Talking to reporters, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s health officer Daksha Shah said, “No new cases have been detected in the city. And those already admitted are recuperating and responding well to the treatment.” She added, “There are patients in isolation. Samples of their relatives and families were sent for testing and all tested negative.”

Late Saturday night, state disease surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate informed that five persons from PimpriChinchwad area near Mumbai had tested positive for the virus. Four of them had come in contact with a group, which had returned from Dubai. Some members of this group have already tested positive. Another person had visited Thailand recently, Dr Awate added.

Health minister Rajesh Tope earlier on Saturday evening announced that shopping malls across the state would remain closed till month-end. Grocery stores, which sell commodities of daily need, will remain open, he said.

The state government also issued a directive that all schools and colleges in areas of municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats shall remain closed till March 31.

Meanwhile, the sample of a 71-year-old man who died on Saturday while under quarantine in Buldhana in Mahar-ashtra for suspected exposure to novel coronavirus has returned negative, a health official said on Sunday.

“His sample, which was sent to Nagpur for testing, has returned negative,” Civil Surgeon Premchand Pandit said.

With Maharashtra becoming the state with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and discussed the state’s preparedness to tackle the pandemic.

During the telephonic conversation, the Prime Minister and Mr Thackeray deliberated on measures to tackle the novel coronavirus menace.

After speaking with the PM, Mr Thackeray convened a meeting to review the steps taken to check the spread of Covid-19 in Maharashtra. The meeting, held at Sahyadri

Guest House, was attended by several ministers, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, state health minister Rajesh Tope.

Maharashtra has already invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 that gives wide-ranging powers to officials to enforce measures, including that of lockdown and quarantine, required tackling an outbreak.

The state government has also ordered the closure of educational institutions, theatres, malls, parks, swimming pools, gymnasiums etc to stop the spread of coronavirus.