As the global death toll from coronavirus topped 4,000 & infected over 1.15 people globally, the WHO warned that the threat of a pandemic was “very real.”
New Delhi| India reported total of 18 cases of novel coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 52. Of these eight have been reported from Kerala; five from Maharashtra; four from Karnataka and one from J&K.
As countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea witness a burst of coronavirus or COVID-19 cases from China, the number in India is increasing steadily. Coronavirus scare in India has led to a steep fall in chicken prices, forcing poultry farmers to dump chickens. The government has also clarified that two deaths reported from Murshidabad and Ladakh on Monday were both found to be “negative” for COVID-19.
An 85-year-old man in Jaipur, who had returned from Dubai on February 28, has tested positive for coronavirus, a state government official said on Wednesday.
Over 300 passengers, the majority of them Keralites, are stuck at the Milan International Airport on Tuesday after the Italian officials denied them permission to board flights to India citing the Union Health Ministry’s advisory to furnish a certificate from authorized laboratories that they are COVID-19 negative.
Eight new cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, taking the total number of infected people to 17. Barring Rajasthan, where the Italian tourists were infected, Kerala has the highest number of patients in the country as well as the youngest patient — a three-year-old was tested positive.
Amid the rise, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has announced the closure of all educational institutions and cinema halls till March 31. The chief minister has also advised the citizens to avoid mass gatherings and to not go to the Sabarimala temple which is set to re-open on March 13. All government-related functions have been postponed.
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At least two schools in Pune’s Dhayari Phata announced a shutdown till Saturday, as a few members of a housing society in the area were taken for coronavirus screening. Other schools in the city are also contemplating closing down briefly.
Mumbai has also been kept on alert and at least 537 people who have returned from abroad have been tested for the coronavirus in the city.
The wife and daughter of the techie infected with novel COVID-19 are among the latest tested positive for the virus in the state. Another 50-year-old man who travelled to the US via London is another positive case. The state health department is now tracking 2,666 persons who came in contact with the first Covid-19 patient.
Coronavirus scare in India has led to a steep fall in chicken prices, forcing poultry farmers to dump chickens. In one such case, a poultry farmer in Karnataka dumped 6,000 chickens, all-around a month old, after unfounded fear of transmission of coronavirus from chicken, reports The Times of India.
(Inputs from Indian Express)
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