With first case in North East, the total number of coronavirus infections in India has reached 500. India reported two Covid-19 deaths on Monday, taking the death toll to nine.
New Delhi, March 24:
Amid lockdown in most parts of India to deal with novel coronavirus threat, the Covid-19 tally has reached 500 with first case coming to the fore from the North East.
A 23-year-old woman, with a travel history to the UK, tested positive for novel coronavirus on Monday the first confirmed case of infection reported from North East India. The 23-year-old from Imphal is stable and is being treated, officials have said.
At 99 cases on Monday, India saw the highest jump in its Covid-19 tally in a single day. India also reported two coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, taking the death toll to nine as the number of coronavirus cases climbed to 499.
Maharashtra, which has been the worst hit, reported 23 new cases on Monday, taking the total of positive cases to 97 — the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India so far. At 95, Kerala is close behind.
Karnataka has 33 cases of coronavirus patients after seven more persons tested positive for the deadly virus. The number of cases in Telangana have risen to 33, including 10 foreigners.
Uttar Pradesh has 33 positive cases, including a foreign national. Gujarat has reported 30 cases and Delhi has 29 patients, while Rajasthan has 32 positive cases, including two foreign nationals.
In Haryana, there are 26 cases, including 14 foreigners, while Punjab has 23 cases.
Ladakh has 13 cases, while Tamil Nadu has 12 cases, including two foreigners. West Bengal reported seven cases, while Madhya Pradesh has six cases so far.
Chandigarh has six cases, while Andhra Pradesh reported seven cases. Jammu and Kashmir has four cases.
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have reported three cases each, while there are two case each in Bihar and Odisha. Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported a case each.
30 STATES, UTs IN COMPLETE LOCKDOWN
A total of 30 states and Union Territories have imposed complete lockdown, covering a total of 548 districts in the country, to check the spread of coronavirus, the government said on Monday. Six other states have put in place similar restrictions in some areas in the wake of the outbreak.
On Sunday, 80 districts were under lockdown.
The central government has also asked states to enforce additional restrictions, if necessary, leading to imposition of curfew in Punjab and Maharashtra.
As many people continued to venture out despite the lockdown order, Puducherry, besides Punjab and Maharashtra, also ordered curfew so that no one goes out of home.
A tweet by the Press Information Bureau said the states which have imposed lockdown in all districts include Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland.
The other states are: Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Tripura, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Daman Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Karnataka and Assam.
GOVT SUSPENDS DOMESTIC PASSENGER FLIGHTS
No domestic commercial passenger flight will be allowed to operate in the country from Tuesday midnight to March 31 to restrict travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.
India has already banned international flights for a week from Sunday.
“The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease with effect from the midnight that is 23.59 hours IST (Indian Standard Time) on March 24, 2020,” a ministry spokesperson said.
“Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destinations before 23.59 hours on March 24, 2020,” he said. However, the spokesperson clarified, the restrictions will not apply to cargo flights.
Later during the day, the ministry issued an order stating that the ban would remain in force for domestic commercial passenger flights from 11.59 PM on Tuesday to 11.59 PM on March 31.
Along with cargo flights, off-shore helicopter operations, medical evacuation flights or flights “specifically” approved by aviation regulator DGCA can operate as usual, the order said.
It stated that chartered flights of private aircraft operators will also not operate from midnight March 24 to March 31. “All airports shall continue to function for handling the permitted flight operations,” the order said.
PM MODI APPEALS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced strictly as he noted that many people were not following the measures seriously.
“Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to ensure rules and laws are followed,” Modi said in a tweet in Hindi.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba wrote a letter to State Chief Secretaries urging them to monitor the situation round the clock. All violations should be met with legal action, the Cabinet Secretary told the states and UTs.
