Coronavirus
The ministry of home affairs has asked all paramilitary forces to get into a “battle mode” and plan ahead to combat the novel coronavirus, which has affected more than 200,000 people worldwide. According to the latest guidelines issued by the government, the director generals of Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, IndoTibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal, National Security Guard and Assam Rifles have been instructed to cancel all nonemergency leave of paramilitary personnel in order to minimise the risk of them contracting the virus during travel.
Two fresh positive coronavirus cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh. In the first case, a 25-year-old junior resident doctor of the King George Medical University in Lucknow tested positive after coming in contact with two patients undergoing treatment for the disease at its premises, a hospital spokesperson said. In the second case, a Noida resident who recently returned from Indonesia tested positive for COVID-19 taking the total number of positive cases in the district to four, Gautam Buddh Nagar chief medical officer Anurag Bhargava said. Fresh cases were also reported in Telangana, where a man who came from the UK tested positive, and Karnataka — two patients, a 56-year-old man and 25-year-old woman, had returned from the US and Spain, respectively, tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 151 cases include 25 foreign nationals and the three persons who died in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Over 5,700 people, who had come in contact with these positive cases are under rigorous surveillance, the health ministry said. Delhi has so far reported 10 positive cases, which includes one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 16 cases, including one foreigner. Maharashtra has 42 cases, including three foreigners, while Kerala has recorded 27 cases which include two foreign nationals.
Karnataka has 13 coronavirus patients. The number of cases in Ladakh rose to eight and Jammu and Kashmir three. Telangana has reported six cases which include two foreigners.
Rajasthan has also reported four cases including that of two foreigners. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Punjab have reported one case each. In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include fourteen foreigners.
While the CBSE directed board examination centres to ensure sitting arrangements with adequate distance between students to contain the coronavirus spread, the Uttar Pradesh government announced that students of classes one to eight of all government primary schools in the state will get promoted without having to appear in examinations that have been cancelled in view of the pandemic.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan held a review meeting on the containment and management of coronavirus, directing that teams be deputed to regularly inspect and monitor quarantine facilities. Vardhan reviewed the preparedness of hospitals in terms of availability of testing kits, personal protective equipment, medicines and isolation wards. Swiss firm Roche Diagnostics India received the license for conducting coronavirus tests after approval from drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DGCI), making it the first private firm to get such permission after the government decided to allow accredited private labs to test for COVID-19. In Parliament, the government informed the Lok Sabha that 276 Indians have been infected with coronavirus in other countries — 255 in Iran, 12 in UAE, five in Italy and one each in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Rwanda and Sri Lanka.
Opposition Rajya Sabha MPS demanded curtailment of the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament in view of the spread of coronavirus but chairman Venkaiah Naidu said any decision on it will have to be taken by the government in consultation with stakeholders.
UK’S Acting High Commissioner to India Jan Thompson, in a video posted on Twitter, advised
British nationals in India that if they have symptoms of coronavirus they should self-isolate for seven days and contact the Government of India’s helpline in case their condition worsens.
The J a mmu & Kashmir administration announced closure of the Vaishno Devi yatra as part of precautionary measures.
The BJP, meanwhile, decided not to hold any protest or demonstration for a month in view of the coronavirus outbreak, party president JP Nadda said.
According to the health ministry’s data, 14 people have been discharged so far, including the three patients from Kerala who were discharged last month.
Three persons infected with the virus have died so far, the latest casualty being a 64-year-old man from Mumbai with a travel history to Dubai who succumbed on Tuesday. A 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who returned from Saudi Arabia and a 68-yearold woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus were the other deceased.
With schools across several states closed, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizanse of the non-availability of mid-day meals and issued notices to the states and Union territories asking them how children were being provided mid-day meals amid the shut down.
Vistara on Wednesday said it is temporarily suspending its international flights from March 20 to March 31.