A person in Dharavi, Mumbai, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus has died, according to reports. Seven members of his family are now under quarantine.
India has reported 240 new Covid-19 cases since Tuesday night, with the number rising to 1,637 by 9 am on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The toll rose to 38.
The Delhi government and police have evacuated 2,361 persons from the Nizamuddin Markaz, which is believed to have been the source of dozens of Covid-19 infections across the country. Several cases of Covid-19 in Delhi as well as in other states have been traced to a congregation held there last month. Many state governments are trying to trace the people who returned after attending the event.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it the worst crisis the world has faced since World War II. The global number of cases rose to 8,62,234 on Wednesday, with over 42,000 patients dead, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The national helpline number for the coronavirus is 011-23978046, and a toll-free number 1075.
Here are the helpline numbers for states and the Union Territories.
11 pm: The Uttar Pradesh Police file 23 cases against more than 100 foreigners for breaking visa rules to attend Tablighi Jamaat activities, reports PTI.
10.48 pm: The 56-year-old who tested positive for the virus in Mumbai’s densely populated area Dharavi has died, reports The Hindu. The building he lived in has been sealed, along with surrounding shops.
10.44 pm: Three people who attended the Tablighi Jamat event in Delhi test positive for coronavirus in Puducherry, reports PTI.
10.34 pm: A doctor on duty at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital who was treating coronavirus patients was attacked earlier, reports The Indian Express. The police issue a press release condemning the act and saying action will be taken. Doctors and medical workers in the city will now be provided security.
10.31 pm: Eleven people who visited the Nizamuddin Markaz test positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan, reports The Indian Express. This takes the number of cases in the state to 120.
10.14 pm: After Wimbledon is cancelled, organisers of the US Open say the Grand Slam is scheduled to be held from August 31, as planned, reports AFP.
“The USTA [US Tennis Association] is carefully monitoring the rapidly changing environment surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and is preparing for all contingencies,” organisers said in a statement. “We also rely on the USTA’s medical advisory group as well as governmental and security officials to ensure that we have the broadest understanding of this fluid situation.”
10.10 pm: Twenty-four new cases are reported from Andhra Pradesh, taking the number of coronavirus cases there to 111, reports The News Minute.
10 pm: In an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a law allowing the government to declare a state of emergency, reports The Guardian. This comes after one of the country’s foremost coronavirus doctors, Denis Protsenko, tested positive for the infection and had met Putin. Putin began working from home on Wednesday.
9.57 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Noida or Gautam Buddh Nagar increases to 48 after 10 more people test positive for the infection, reports PTI.
“If 99% of people follow precautions and 1% don’t, then that 1% will put the whole society at risk,” District Magistrate Suhas LY says. “The government and the administration need your support and we are ensuring minimum difficulties to the citizens,” he said, while urging people to stay home.
9.56 pm: Haryana announces ex-gratia payments for nurses, doctors, paramedics and others working at all hospitals in the state, reports PTI.
The state also extends the due date for crop loan payments from April 15 to June 30.
9.50 pm: The number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir rises to 62 after seven more people test positive, reports PTI.
9.46 pm: The total number of cases in Assam goes up to 13, says minister Himanta Sarma.
9.44 pm: A 56-year-old man from Dharavi in Mumbai has tested positive. He has been shifted to Sion Hospital and his family members are under home quarantine, ANI reports. Dharavi is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
9.42 pm: India is sending medical equipment and other supplies to the Maldives as part of efforts to help its neighbours to tackle the pandemic.
9.40 pm: Wimbledon chiefs on Wednesday cancelled the Grand Slam tournament for the first time since World War II as the coronavirus wreaks further havoc on the global sporting calendar. The cancellation of the only grasscourt Grand Slam tournament leaves the tennis season in disarray.
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9.30 pm: The Uttar Pradesh Police file a first information report against Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of news website The Wire, for allegedly spreading fake news against Chief Minister Adityanath. Varadarajan had in a tweet wrongly attributed a quote to the chief minister. However, he later posted a clarification of the same.
9.25 pm: IIT JEE Advanced 2020, scheduled to be held on May 17, has been postponed, ANI reports.
8.13 pm: The Delhi Police has registered a case in connection with the use of Delhi Transport Corporation, cluster buses to ferry migrant workers leaving the city to Anand Vihar bus station amid a nationwide lockdown, reports PTI.
8.08 pm: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Delhi goes up to 152, including 53 people who attended the congregation in Nizamuddin area, reports PTI, citing the chief medical officer.
8.05 pm: Jahangirabad City Superintendent of Police Abdul Aleem Khan says 31 people who attended Delhi’s Tablighi Jamaat, including citizens of Indonesia and Myanmar have been identified and quarantined at mosques and other places in Aish Bagh area of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, reports ANI.
7.59 pm: Image from an awareness campaign to tackle Covid-19 in Karnataka.
7.57 pm: The Central Board of Secondary Education will not hold pending class 10 and 12 exams in foreign countries, reports PTI.
“There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown or have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time,” CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi says. “Under such circumstances, it is felt that the board will not be in a position to hold differential set of exams for each of these countries.”
7.50 pm: Chinese short-video application TikTok has donated 400,000 hazmat medical protective suits and 2,00,000 masks worth Rs 100 crore.
“Keeping the safety of India’s medical personnel in mind, TikTok is donating 400,000 hazmat medical protective suits and masks – as an important safety measure,” the company’s statement said.
7.29 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra rises to 335, ANI reports quoting health officials.
7.17 pm: Government will accept foreign donations for PM CARES fund to combat the coronavirus, ANI reports.
7.13 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says 71 people from the state had attended the religious gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, PTI reports. Banerjee adds that 54 people from that group have been placed under quarantine.
7.09 pm: Woman dies of Covid-19 in Thane, PTI reports. She was suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.
7.04 pm: UK records over 500 daily coronavirus deaths for first time, bringing the toll to 2,352, AFP reports.
6.58 pm: Padma Shri winner Nirmal Singh tests positive for the coronavirus in Amritsar, reports PTI. The 62-year-old had also been a priest at the Golden Temple. Unidentified officials say that he had recently travelled abroad and had held a religious gathering in Delhi and several other places after his return.
6.52 pm: The total number of coronavirus cases linked to the religious gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin reaches 134, NDTV reports.
6.48 pm: Japan will ban visitors from the United States, China and most of Europe to stem a recent rise in coronavirus cases, AFP reports. Japan has more than 1,200 cases of the coronavirus.
6.42 pm: Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, senior scientist at Indian Council of Medical Research, says anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine is only being given to doctors and contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases, PTI reports.
6.36 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh directs the state’s Health Department to start mobile testing vans in all districts with a high number of coronavirus cases, ANI reports.
6.32 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 110 new cases of the coronavirus, ANI reports citing National Health Mission.
6.24 pm: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says 24 new cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the state, taking the total to 265, ANI reports.
6.21 pm: Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal directs the Indian Institutes of Technology to ensure that the placements of students are not affected due to the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reports.
6.15 pm: Heads of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization warn of “worldwide food shortage” due to the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reports. “Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,” they said in a joint statement.
6.11 pm: Supreme Court asks the Centre and the Delhi government to respond to a petition filed by a non-governmental organization seeking direction to ensure fair and equitable distribution of masks and also the sale and distribution of hand sanitisers and liquid soap, PTI reports.
6.07 pm: Ministry of Human Resource Development directs Central Board of Secondary Education to promote all students of classes one to eight on the basis of internal assessment.
6.06 pm: Twenty-six people from Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district attended the event at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, says Deputy Commissioner Sharat B. He adds that 14 people came back to the district and have been placed under quarantine.
5.55 pm: Sriramulu says 62 Indonesian nationals participated in Tablighi Jamaat’s Markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin and later visited Karnataka.
5.53 pm: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu say according to a report 300 people from the state participated in the Nizamuddin gathering and 40 of them have been identified, reports ANI. “Saliva tests of 12 people have come negative,” he adds. “Request all those who attended the event at Delhi’s Nizamuddin to come forward.”
5.50 pm: Saudi Arabia urges Muslims to wait before making plans to attend the annual haj pilgrimage until there is more clarity about the coronavirus pandemic, reports Reuters.
5.44 pm: The National Commission for Minorities says that Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area has caused “big damage” to contain the spread of the coronavirus, PTI reports.
5.38 pm: Eight villages in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur have been declared as red zones after it was found that 10 people from the district had attended the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, reports News18.
5.32 pm: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says there are 23 coronavirus cases in the state and one person has died, reports ANI.
5.30 pm: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan says personal protective equipment kits, N95 masks are available in adequate quantities to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, reports ANI. “If in future, more masks, PPE kits, ventilators, ICU beds etc are needed, then, we are prepared for it,” he adds. “There is no need to worry about this.”
5.27 pm: Kejriwal says strict actions will be take against those who did not adhere to the government orders during quarantine.
5.26 pm: Arvind Kejriwal says government will track mobile phones of people under quarantine to check their movement. “We gave 14,345 phone numbers to Delhi Police,” he adds.
5.25 pm: “Doctors have informed us that there is a shortage of personal protection equipment and testing kits,” says Delhi chief minister. “We appeal to the Union government to provide required PPE as early as possible.”
5.24 pm: “The front-line workers are endangering their lives for us,” says Kejriwal. “We have arranged meals for doctors and medical staffs from five star hotels on a daily basis. And for those who are unable to return home we have arranged rooms for them to stay in the hotels.”
They will also be paid Rs 1 crore as ex gratia for health care workers if they die while treating patients, adds Kejriwal.
5.22 pm: “I had conversation with doctors nurses and sanitary workers today through video conference,” says Arvind Kejriwal. “I have thanked all of them from everyone’s behalf.”
5.20 pm: Out of 120 coronavirus infected patients, 49 came from abroad, 24 are from Nizamuddin Markaz and 29 are close contacts of patients from abroad, says Kejriwal. “So far there is no community spread and situation is under control,” says the chief minister.
5.17 pm: Delhi chief minister says 536 people from the Nizamuddin Markaz have been admitted to hospitals. He adds that 1,810 people have been put in isolation or in quarantine. Therefore, a total of 2,346 have been taken out of the Markaz.
5.16 pm: Kejriwal says 120 positive coronavirus cases have been reported till Wednesday morning. He adds that 766 people are admitted to the hospitals in Delhi due to Covid-19. Of these, 112 are positive, rest are possibly infected and being tested. One of the patient is on ventilator, two are on oxygen supply and 109 patients are stable.
5.15 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal address media about the coronavirus situation.
5.11 pm: A total of 252 persons, including at least a dozen Indonesians, who attended the Nizamuddin congregation, have been traced in various cities of Maharashtra including Pune and Mumbai, PTI reports.
5 pm: In Gujarat, 72 persons – 34 from Ahmedabad, 20 from Bhavnagar and 12 from Mehsana – attended the Tablighi Jamaat event, the state police chief tells ANI. One person from Bhavnagar who tested positive has died, while the others are in quarantine.
4.43 pm: In Nagpur, 54 persons who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation have been identified and quarantined, ANI reports.
4.38 pm: The trend of tests being conducted for Covid-19 in India:
4.30 pm: How the trend of rising Covid-19 cases in India looks so far:
4.14 pm: Lav Agarwal says the government is trying to upgrade the quality of personal protective equipment, and it is an ongoing process.
4.13 pm: Indian Council of Medical Research official Dr R Gangakhedkar says capacity utilisation for the testing is still 38%, with 47,951 tests conducted so far and 4,562 on Tuesday. He says 126 labs are there in ICMR network and 51 private labs have been approved.
4.11 pm: Joint Home Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava says 21,486 relief camps have been set up across the country, giving shelter to 6,75,133 persons.
4.08 pm: The Indian Railways is preparing 3.2 lakh isolation and quarantine beds and thousands of coaches are being modified for the purpose, Agarwal says.
4.05 pm: In its daily press briefing, Joint Health Secretary Lav Agarwal says 1,800 people related to Tablighi Jamaat have been moved to nine hospitals and quarantine facilities. He says states where cases have been reported have been asked to begin rigorous contact-tracing and containment strategies.
“The surge in the number of cases does not represent the recent national trend, we know that when anyone makes a mistake, it can lead to more cases,” Agarwal says.
4 pm: A total of 94 prisoners have been released from the Shillong District Jail in Meghalaya, PTI reports.
3.38 pm: A Covid-19 patient has died in Meerut, bringing the toll in Uttar Pradesh to two, PTI reports.
3.36 pm: The number of cases in Rajasthan rises to 106 after 13 more test positive for Covid-19, PTI reports, citing officials.
3.35 pm: Rajasthan government has traced 37 people in Jhunjhunu who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event and placed them in quarantine, ANI reports.
3.27 pm: Two resident doctors of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi have tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reports.
3.26 pm: GoAir tells employees that they will get part of their salary for March in April, PTI reports. The airline had earlier said all employees will have pay cuts in March.
3.14 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold video conferencing with all chief ministers on Thursday to discuss Covid-19, ANI reports.
3.06 pm: Four more persons test positive for Covid-19 in Guwahati. The number goes up to five in Assam. All four attended the Nizamuddin event in Delhi, PTI reports.
2.51 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the government will give Rs 1 crore compensation to families of healthcare personnel who die while dealing with coronavirus cases, PTI reports.
2.32 pm: The Markaz building in Nizamuddin is being sanitised, ANI reports.
2 pm: Reports are coming from more states about people who had attended the Nizamuddin event in Delhi. In Uttarakhand, Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar says 26 such people from the state are still in Delhi, and 173 out of 713 people who participated in regular jamaats at the mosque in the last 28 days have been quarantined.
In Kerala, 22 persons from Malappuram district had attended the event, and have been placed in home-quarantine. Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy says the government has identified nine persons who had attended the event and they are being tested.
1.58 pm: Eighteen residents of Lucknow who participated in Nizamuddin Markaz event have not yet returned, city police chief Sujit Pandey tells ANI. In addition, 24 foreigners who came to Lucknow after participating in the event have been admitted to Balrampur Hospital.
1.57 pm: Ten persons who arrived in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir after attending the Nizamuddin event have been kept in quarantine, ANI reports.
1.31 pm: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu says 200 persons in the state who participated in the Nizamuddin gathering have been quarantined, ANI reports.
1.07 pm: Deaths in Europe cross 30,000, according to AFP.
1.03 pm: In the 9 am update given by the Centre, six states have more than 100 cases each so far:
- Maharashtra: 302 cases (39 discharged, nine dead)
- Kerala: 241 cases (23 discharged, two dead)
- Tamil Nadu: 124 cases (four discharged, one dead)
- Delhi: 120 cases (six discharged, two dead)
- Uttar Pradesh: 103 cases (14 discharged)
- Karnataka: 101 cases (eight discharged, three dead)
1.01 pm: The Tripura government announces that 6.19 lakh poor families will get free ration for one month, PTI reports.
12.57 pm: Bihar police chief Gupteshwar Pandey says 86 residents of the state and 57 foreigners who had attended Markaz in Delhi are being monitored, ANI reports. Forty-eight people have been quarantined already, he says.
12.55 pm: Seven Indonesians and one person each from Kolkata and Kerala found at a mosque in Prayagraj had attended the Markaz gathering in Delhi, ANI reports. They have been quarantined along with 28 people who they came in contact with, Prayagraj police say.
12.49 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports its first death. Test samples of a 25-year-old man, who died two days ago, were found to be positive for coronavirus, PTI reports.
12.34 pm: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has updated the number Covid-19 cases in India. As of 9 am, the number of cases so far is 1,637 – a rise of 386 cases since Monday night and 240 cases in the last 12 hours. The toll has risen to 38, while 132 patients have been discharged. The number of active cases stands at 1,466.
12.18 pm: All 107 people from Madhya Pradesh who attended the congregation in Nizamuddin have been identified and quarantined, PTI reports.
12.17 pm: Two Covid-19 patients die in West Bengal, toll rises to six, PTI reports.
11.59 am: The Bihar government has a list of 81 people who had attended the Nizamuddin gathering in Delhi. Thirty of them have been traced in Patna and Buxar so far, Principal Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar tells ANI.
11.57 am: Ten people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi have been sent in quarantine in Jammu, PTI reports.
11.47 am: Bihar government says 23 Covid-19 cases have been reported in the state so far, ANI reports. “State government has decided to test all the people who have returned from abroad after March 18, because we have found that even those who had no symptoms have tested positive,” the principal health secretary says.
11.39 am: Forty-three new cases in Andhra Pradesh reported in the 12 hours starting 9 pm on March 31, taking the number of patients to 87, ANI reports.
11.31 am: The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Germany rises to 67,366, with 732 deaths, Reuters reports, citing data from Robert Koch Institute.
11.29 am: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu says about 300 people from the state had attended the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, of whom 40 have been identified and quarantined. Twelve of them have tested negative for Covid-19.
11.24 am: The Karnataka government says Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru are among the top 25 Covid-19 hotspots in the country, ANI reports. The state has 101 cases.
11.22 am: The Delhi State Cancer Institute has been shut for the day and is being disinfected after a doctor working there tested positive for Covid-19, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain tells ANI. He says the doctor had recently visited her brother, who had returned from the United Kingdom.
11.04 am: A total of 2,361 persons were found in the Nizamuddin Markaz and the premises were vacated after a 36-hour effort by medical staff, the administration, police and transport staff, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia says. Of these, 617 have been sent to hospitals and the rest in quarantine.
11.02 am: The Nizamuddin Markaz and the area around it is being sanitised by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, ANI reports.
11 am: Eight new cases found in Ahmedabad, taking the total number of patients in Gujarat to 82, ANI reports. Only three of these patients are on ventilator support.
10.58 am: More than 40% of the deaths recorded in the United States are in New York state. The total toll has surpassed China’s.
10.47 am: Here’s a glimpse from Reuters of some of the world’s most crowded cities amid social distancing measures:
10.44 am: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa says he will donate his one year’s salary to the Chief Minister Relief Fund.
10.43 am: Security personnel guarding Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu have been put in isolation after a family member of an employee in his office tested positive for Covid-19, PTI reports.
10.29 am: The US toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 4,000 early Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University. This is double the number just three days ago.
10.25 am: As many as 34 people have been traced in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra including 29 foreigners who had attended the Markaz, ANI reports. Out of these, results of 14 foreigners have arrived, and two of them have tested positive. The results of three others who came in contact with the two are also positive.
10.20 am: “We got information that 62 Indonesian and Malaysian nationals who took part in prayers in Delhi had visited Karnataka as well,” says Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu. “We have detected 12 such people and quarantined them. The home department will investigate the case further.”
10.15 am: A doctor working at a Delhi government hospital has tested positive for coronavirus, ANI reports.
10.13 am: “It is a Talibani crime by Tablighi Jamaat, such criminal act can not be forgiven,” says Union Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says according to ANI. “They have put lives of many people in danger. Strict action should be taken against such people and organisations that defy government directions.”
10.10 am: A distillery owned by Congress MLA Rana Gurjit Singh has stopped the production of liquor and ethanol and is instead manufacturing hand sanitisers, which he is distributing for free in his constituency of Kapurthala, The Indian Express reports. “Within last week, I have supplied almost 50,000 bottles of sanitisers in the villages and urban areas in the Assembly segment,” Gurjit says.
10.07 am: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Amjad Basha denies that he attended the religious programme at Markaz in Nizamuddin area of New Delhi as alleged by some media organisations, ANI reports. He says he was in New Delhi on March 2 in connection with the hearing of a case in Supreme Court regarding 4% reservations to Muslims.
10.05 am: Erode District Collector C Kathiravan says that only the addresses of individuals who travelled via flight and train could be traced, ANI reports. He asks Muslims who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in New Delhi to come forward and take the Covid-19 test.
9.57 am: India would need to have about 20,000 testing centres to match South Korea’s rate of testing, senior diplomat and minister counsellor (politics) in the Korean Embassy in New Delhi, Yoo Chang-ho tells News18. He says South Korea has 650 testing centres nationwide.
9.55 am: A cleaner at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai has tested positive for Covid-19. Hospital staffers have complained of discrimination, claiming that while doctors and nurses get N-95 masks and proper protective gear, cleaners are given an inferior quality knee-length gown and 2-ply or 3-ply mask.
9.48 am: As many as 11 members of a family in Jaipur’s Walled City have tested positive for Covid-19. On March 12, a 45-year-old man returned from Oman from a business trip and after landing at Delhi airport, he took a bus to his hometown Ramganj. He and his family members have been found to be infected.
“The man with travel history to Oman was under home-quarantine but he did not follow it,” Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh tells The Indian Express. “We will go door-to-door to check everyone for symptoms and to ramp up testing.”
9.45 am: The Punjab government has decided that anyone who enters the state until March 14 will be home quarantined or isolated at a government facility for 14 days. “Any person who is symptomatic would be kept at a government isolation ward and those asymptomatic would be kept in quarantine at home,” says Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sandhu. “This is being done to ensure that we do not get any fresh infections of the contagion in the coming days.”
9.42 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research has said that the “probability” of coronavirus infection in India is low, pointing to the number of cases in the United States, The Indian Express reports. Asked whether common people should wear masks in public, ICMR member RR Gangakhedkhar has said: “There is a hell-and-heaven difference in the outbreak here and in America. My probability of infection is very low, that is why we are saying only a person who has symptoms should wear masks.”
9.39 am: Anti-HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir are no longer India’s drugs of choice against the coronavirus, The Indian Express reports. Guidelines issued by the government on March 17 which included use of Ritonavir-Lopinavir in high risk patients, now stand repealed. Instead, India is now using hydroxycholoroquine, used for treatment of auto-immune disorders, and the antibitoic azithromycin.
9.34 am: A government official in Madhya Pradesh says 20 new coronavirus cases have been detected in the state, taking the number of cases to 86, PTI reports.
9.27 am: India has exported 90 tons of medical equipment and safety gear to Serbia amid a huge shortage at home, NDTV reports. The matter came to light on Tuesday following a tweet by the Serbian wing of the United Nations Development Programme. India’s health ministry has denied knowledge of the matter.
9.20 am: “The total number of people from Pune who attended event at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, is more than 130,” says Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram according to ANI. “Many of them are either not in Pune or are untraceable.” He says 60 people have been put into quarantine, though they do not have any symptoms.
9.10 am: Two more Covid-19 patients have died in Maharashtra, taking the toll in the state to 12, PTI reports. One was a 75-year-old man from Mumbai, while the other, a 50-year-old man, died in Palghar district.
9.01 am: Eighteen more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Maharashtra, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 320, says a health official. Of the 18 new cases, 16 have been reported from Mumbai and two from Pune.
8.48 am: Star Wars actor Andrew Jack has died in Britain, his agent Jill McCullough says in a statement, according to AP.
His wife, Gabrielle Rogers, who is quarantined in Australia, also posted on social media. “Andrew Jack was diagnosed with coronavirus 2 days ago,” she writes. “He was in no pain, and he slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all ‘with’ him.”
8.03 am: All the 14 tests conducted at Goa Medical College and Hospital have come negative, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane tells ANI. He adds that 25 more tests will be conducted today.
7.47 am: US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo “highlighted the importance of continued close cooperation between US, India and other allies” when he spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over phone, says Morgan Ortagus, the spokesperson for US State Department.
7.34 am: Virologist Gita Ramjee has become the first Indian-born South African to die from the coronavirus, PTI reports. Ramjee had returned from London a week ago but reportedly showed no symptoms of Covid-19 before her death.
7.30 am: The toll due to the coronavirus climbed to four in West Bengal on Tuesday, as two patients succumbed to the contagion, while 10 new cases were reported, according to PTI. Five people did not have any travel history, while the rest either came in contact with a positive patient or had a travel history outside the state.
7.27 am: United States President Donald Trump has told its citizens they should brace for “painful” weeks ahead, BBC reports. “This is going to be a very painful – a very, very painful two weeks,” Trump says describing the pandemic as a “plague”. “I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead.”
7.22 am: The total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has climbed to 120 after 23 new cases of the pandemic were detected, the Health Department says. These 120 cases include 24 people who took part in a religious congregation at Nizamuddin.
7.17 am: Thirty-four Gautam Buddh Nagar residents, who have shown no symptoms of coronavirus yet, have been home quarantined as a precautionary measure because they attended the Nizamuddin event, PTI reports.
7.13 am: The Jaunpur administration in Uttar Pradesh has quarantined about 50 people who attended a religious congregation in Nizamuddin area of New Delhi, PTI reports. “People who returned two days ago from Delhi and Noida on buses were scanned,” District Magistrate Dinesh Kumar Singh says. “Of this, there were around 50 persons who returned after attending the Tabligh-e-Jamaat. These people have been quarantined at Shia College, and their health check-up is being done.”
7.08 am: The district administration of Dimapur has ordered total closure of all shops, commercial, private establishments, and imposed restriction on movement of public and vehicles for 66 hours with effect from 6 am on Wednesday, PTI reports.
7.07 am: The Andhra Pradesh government has deferred payment of full salaries to the chief minister, officers and employees, saying its revenue streams have “totally dried up”, PTI reports. The deferments will range from 10% to 100%.
7.05 am: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the crisis is the most challenging the world has faced since World War 2, AP reports. There is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to “enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict”, Guterres says.
7.03 am: The toll in the United States has surged past that of China’s, crossing 3,600, AP reports. “This is ongoing and the duration itself is debilitating and exhausting and depressing,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says. New York City has rushed bring in more medical professionals and ambulances and parked refrigerated morgue trucks on the streets to collect the dead.
7. 01 am: Here is a roundup of the top updates from Tuesday:
- India’s Health Ministry confirmed 146 new patients of Covid-19 on Tuesday. This took the number of cases so far to 1,397. Of these, 123 have been discharged and 35 have died. The toll until Monday night was 32.
- A mosque in Nizamuddin locality of Delhi began to emerge as a source of several cases across the country. The Centre said the mosque was the centre of nationwide activities of the Tablighi Jamaat group, and workers from across India as well as foreign countries had gathered there. State governments are now tracing hundreds of persons who returned after attending the event, and are likely to test or quarantine them.
- Globally, the number of Covid-19 cases crossed 8 lakh and the toll rose over 40,000 on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- At the daily press briefing, the Centre said state governments had set up over 21,000 relief camps to give shelter to more than 6 lakh people during the ongoing countrywide lockdown. Indian Council of Medical Research official Dr R Gangakhedkar said that 42,788 samples have been tested so far, including 4,346 on Monday. This represents 36% of the total capacity, he said.
- A 93-year old man in Kerala and his 88-year-old wife have recovered from Covid-19, the deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the government said on Tuesday. The couple had contracted the infection from their son, who had returned from Italy.
- The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that there are no migrant workers on the roads “as of 11 am on March 31” and they have all been taken to the nearest available shelter. The court was hearing petitions seeking relief for thousands of labourers who have been attempting to return home after being left without work during the 21-day lockdown because of the novel coronavirus. The Supreme Court directed the Centre to ensure that migrant workers who have lost their jobs and homes amid the lockdown are provided food and medicines. The court also emphasised on the need to provide counselling to the migrants workers to ease their fears.
- The coronavirus epidemic is “far from over” in the Asia-Pacific region, and current measures to curb its spread are buying time for countries to prepare for large-scale community transmissions, Takeshi Kasai, regional director at the World Health Organization, said.