Coronavirus Updates: Total Covid-19 Cases In India Rise To 1,397, Death Toll At 35

India reported 146 new Covid-19 infections on the seventh day of lockdown, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 1,397. The count includes 124 people who have been cured or discharged and 35 who succumbed to the respiratory illness.

The country had added 227 cases on Monday—the biggest single-day rise since 194 new infections on Saturday, March 28.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that conducted over 4,000 tests on Monday, suggesting a gradual ramp-up in testing over the country. Total samples tested for Covid-19 have now crossed 42,000.

However, ICMR warned that India continues to face a shortage of testing kits. Availability of testing kits is a big issue, it said in the daily press briefing.

Globally, coronavirus cases have crossed 788,000 while the death toll stands at 37,800. Over 166,700 have recovered from the illness, according to the latest available data.

Track latest updates on how the coronavirus situation is evolving in India here:

Total confirmed Covid-19 cases rose to 1,397 in India with the country adding 146 cases on Tuesday.

• Active cases: 1,238
• Cured/discharged/migrated: 124
• Deaths: 35

Seventy two new cases of Covid-19 have been detected across Maharashtra, with the bulk of them being from Mumbai. Total cases in the state is now at 302, according to the state health department.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that 4,346 samples were tested for Covid-19 on Monday, indicating a gradual increase in testing in the country.

Till now, we have tested 42,788 samples, ICMR Chief Epidemiologist RR Gangakhedkar said in the health ministry’s daily press briefing.

123 laboratories across the country have been made functional, while 49 private labs have been given the go ahead to do testing. On Monday, Gangakhedkar said, 399 patients were tested in private labs.

Joint Health Secretary Lav Agarawal said that a group of union ministers today took stock of the situation and stressed on the need for readying dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.

India has still not released the number of new Covid-19 cases added today.

All 103 samples examined for coronavirus infection on Monday have tested negative in Odisha, officials said.

Though it comes as a big relief, the authorities will not be complacent in their fight against Covid-19, they said.

With this, a total of 473 samples have been tested for Covid-19 of which three have tested positive in the state.

The three positive cases were reported in a span of 15 days, they said.

The state government on Monday sent 103 samples, 80 samples to RMRC, Bhubaneswar and 23 to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. All the samples tested negative for coronavirus, said a senior health department official.

What gave added relief to the health experts and the state government was that the condition of the three Covid-19 positive patients is stable. Patient-3 had no fever for last two days, they said.

It comes as a big relief for us, but we are not going to be complacent. The fight against the spread of Covid-19 is being conducted in a vigorous manner, they said.

Though no fresh Covid-19 positive case has been detected in Odisha since March 26, the state government is not giving scope for any relaxation in the enforcement of the 21-day lockdown which aims at containing the spread of the deadly virus, said a senior official.

A 33-year-old researcher who had returned from Italy had tested positive for novel coronavirus on March 16 while another 19-year-old man who had visited the U.K. tested positive for Covid-19 on March 20.

The third patient, a 60-year old bank officer, had no foreign tour history.

Together, the three patients had come in contact with 176 persons.

Source: PTI

Three new coronavirus cases were reported in Gujarat on Tuesday, taking the total number of such patients in the state to 73, a health official said.

Out of three new cases,two have been found in Ahmedabad and one in Rajkot, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said.

All the new cases are of locally transmission, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 37, she said.

Besides, 32 patients have foreign travel history while four have inter-state travel history, she said.

So far, six coronavirus positive patients have died in the state, including three in Ahmedabad, two in Bhavnagar and one in Surat.

Five patients have been discharged after recovery. Two patients are on ventilator support while the condition of 60 others is stable, the official said.

Source: PTI

The World Health Organization warns that while attention has shifted to epicenters in Western Europe and North America, Covid-19 epidemics are “far from over” in Asia and the Pacific.

Urging governments at all levels in the region to stay engaged in efforts to combat the virus, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Takeshi Kasai says, “This is going to be a long-term battle and we cannot let down our guard. We need every country to keep responding according to their local situation.” He said the WHO realizes there is no one-size-fits-all approach but there are common tactics.

“Those are: finding, isolating and testing case early, tracing and quarantining contact quickly, and putting in place multiple public health interventions to place physical distance between people to slow and stop transmission.” Takeshi also cautioned that countries still need to prepare for large-scale community transmission.

“We need to be clear that even with all of these measures, the risk will not go away as long as the pandemic continues. Rather, these measures can buy us valuable time to prepare,” he said.

Source: PTI

The Kerala government on Tuesday rejected concerns of community spread of novel coronavirus in the state in the wake of the second death of a patient here who had no travel history or reported contact with any infected person.

Setting aside the concern, Health Minister KK Shylaja said the deceased man, a native of nearby Pothancode, was already suffering from several other health issues including high blood pressure.

The 68-year old man died at the government medical college here, taking the total number of Covid-19 deaths in Kerala to two, the government said.

"We have got information that the deceased man had come in contact with some persons arrived from the Gulf. As he was very sick and was not in a position to speak, we could not collect details from him directly," she told reporters here.

"So we had to collect such details from his relatives now. As per preliminary assessment, it was a case of contact spread. So, as of now, there is no need to get panic about the community spread," she said

The possibility of death was high among patients, aged above 60 years and suffering from other diseases like heart ailments or diabetics, she said.

"That's why we are giving strict directions to the elderly people to remain in homes and avoid contact with infected persons, " the minister said.

However, the minister directed those came in contact with the deceased person to remain in self-quarantine and inform the authorities if they developed any infection symptoms.

In both the coronavirus deaths in the state, the deceased persons were aged and were suffering from other diseases, she added.

Source: PTI

Samples of five more people tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra on Tuesday, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 230, a health official said.

Out of these five, four are from Mumbai while one is from Pune, the official said.

So far, 10 deaths were reported from the state.

Till Monday, 4,538 people were quarantined in various parts of the state of which 3,876 tested negative, while 220 tested positive.

The figure of home quarantined people till Monday was 19,161 while 1,224 people were in institutional quarantine, the official said.

Source: PTI

Seventeen more people tested positive for coronavirus in Indore on Tuesday, taking the total number of such cases in Madhya Pradesh to 66, a health official said.

So far, Indore has reported 44 Covid-19 cases, Jabalpur-8, Bhopal-5, Ujjain-5, and Shivpuri and Gwalior-2 each.

Five coronavirus patients have so far died in the state, the official said.

Source: PTI

Twenty-four people, who took part in a religious congregation in Nizamuddin West earlier this month, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters at his residence, he said that 1,033 people have been shifted to various places.

The minister said, "700 people who attended this congregation have been quarantined while around 335 people have been admitted to hospitals." Jain said screening of all those who participated in the event is being conducted by the government. On Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered an FIR against a Maulana who was leading the congregation at Markaj (Centre) in West Nizamuddin in South Delhi.

The Delhi Police has cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West where several people showed symptoms of the coronavirus after taking part in the Tabligh-e-Jamaat.

Over 2,000 delegates, including from Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the congregation from March 1-15.

Source: PTI

Trade and investment ministers of the G-20 group have agreed to ensure fair trade and continued flow of vital medicines as well as other essential goods to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a joint statement issued after a video conference, the ministers agreed to support the availability and accessibility of essential medical supplies at affordable prices, on an equitable basis, where they are most needed and will guard against profiteering and unjustified price increases.

The ministers also called for working together for a free and fair international trade.

"As we fight the pandemic both individually and collectively and seek to mitigate its impacts on international trade and investment, we will continue to work together to deliver a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open.

"We are actively working to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and equipment, critical agricultural products, and other essential goods and services across borders, for supporting the health of our citizens," the statement said.

The ministers stated that they will take immediate necessary measures to facilitate trade in those essential goods.

They also agreed to implement those measures, upholding the principle of international solidarity, considering the evolving needs of other countries for emergency supplies and humanitarian assistance.

"We will ensure smooth and continued operation of the logistics networks that serve as the backbone of global supply chains. We will explore ways for logistics networks via air, sea and land freight to remain open, as well as ways to facilitate essential movement of health personnel and business people across borders, without undermining the efforts to prevent the spread of the virus," they said in the statement.

Source: PTI

A woman infected with the coronavirus died at a hospital in West Bengal's Howrah district, taking the total number of Covid-19 deaths to three in the state, a health department official said on Tuesday.

The woman in her 40s had recently visited north Bengal but had no foreign travel history, he said.

"The person died on Monday night before test results came. Her test results confirmed that she was infected with the coronavirus," the official said.

Meanwhile, four new cases of coronavirus have been reported in West Bengal, taking the count to 26, he said.

Source: PTI

In a bid to encourage people to stay fit during lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a video of a yoga asan which he practices.

"Whenever I get time, I practice Yoga Nidra once or twice a week," he wrote on Twitter. “It furthers overall well-being, relaxes the mind, reduces stress and anxiety," he wrote.

He shared a video each in English and Hindi. According to details available on various websites, yoga nidra helps relieve stress.

Responding to a question during Mann ki Baat on Sunday on how he is keeping fit during the lockdown, he had said he would post the videos.

"But do remember, that I am not a fitness expert, I am also not a yoga teacher. I am merely a practitioner," he had said. "... some yoga asanas have greatly benefited me. It's possible that some of these tips might help you too during the lockdown," he said on Sunday.