The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 44 on Monday after five new patients tested positive in Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Health Ministry said.

The rate of new infections appeared to reduce in China, epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, but continued to rise around the world. The number of people infected with coronavirus topped 110,000 across the world, and around 3,300 people have died so far.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to discuss the situation in India. Meanwhile, Qatar has temporarily barred travellers from 14 countries, including India, as a precaution against the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

Follow live updates on the outbreak around the world

Here’s what we know so far about the spread of the virus:

  • There are 45 positive cases of the virus in India so far after a three-year-old in Kerala tested positive, along with a case each in Punjab, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. On Sunday, five people in Kerala had tested positive for coronavirus. Two cases were confirmed on Saturday in Ladakh and one in Tamil Nadu. Seventeen people, including 14 Italians, had also tested positive in Delhi, two Italian tourists in Jaipur, six Indians in Agra, and one each in Hyderabad, Ghaziabad and Gurugram. Three patients have recovered in Kerala. 
  • The health ministry said over 8.74 lakh passengers coming from foreign countries have been screened. “We are sending detailed guidelines to all states on ways to contain the coronavirus,” Harsh Vardhan told reporters. “We have asked states to strengthen laboratories and manpower to effectively deal with the coronavirus and form early rapid action teams.”
  • In Bengaluru, kindergarten classes have been closed as a precautionary measure because of the coronavirus cases in the neighbouring Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • There are 3,892 virus-linked deaths globally and the number of confirmed cases is 111,363, according to Johns Hopkins university’s update. Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Malta reported their first cases.
  • China had 40 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections as of Sunday, the National Health Commission said. This was down from 44 cases a day earlier, and the lowest number since the health authority started publishing nationwide data on January 20. The total confirmed cases rose to 80,735, while the toll touched 3,119. 
  • Iran has released approximately 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The country has had 237 deaths from coronavirus and 7,161 infections, the health ministry spokesperson Kianush Jahanpur said on Monday.
  • Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte promised “massive shock therapy” to overcome the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The number of recorded cases has surged to 7,375 with 366 deaths in the country. There is also a virtual lockdown in Italy to limit the gatherings and curb movement till April 3.
  • Germany also has over 930 confirmed coronavirus cases. Health Minister Jens Spahn called on organisers of large public events to cancel them and urged people to stay at home.  
  • The Asian markets plunged on Monday amid concerns about the global spread of the coronavirus. Government bonds from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producing countries were also pummeled after the collapse of the deal between OPEC, Russia and other oil producers that had propped up oil prices since 2016.