The coronavirus which had first emerged in China’s Wuhan city in December last year and has now spread across many countries in the world. India is also affected by it. Central and States government are taking all preventive measures to curb it. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also been tested positive for the coronavirus.
Follow all live updates related to Coronavirus:
20:09 IST: Nine new coronavirus positive cases reported in Mumbai, state tally up to 153
As nine fresh cases of COVID-19 disease were reported from Mumbai and one in Vashi, the total number of coronavirus patients in the state has risen to 153.
With nine new coronavirus positive cases in Mumbai and one in Vashi, the total number of positive cases in Maharashtra has risen to 153, the Health Department of the Government of Maharashtra said on Friday. The total number of coronavirus-positive cases in Mumbai now stands at 86. Four deaths have occurred in Maharashtra due to COVID-19.
19:25 IST: Five new cases of COVID-19 in Punjab
Five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Punjab on Friday, taking the total number of patients tested positive for the infectious disease to 38 in the state.
According to Punjab Health Department, three cases were reported from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and one each from Jalandhar and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar. Officials said that all five fresh cases are contacts of earlier positive cases. “One patient admitted at a hospital in Amritsar was cured and discharged after testing negative for coronavirus. The total number of patients tested positive for COVID-19 to date is 38,” they said.
18:59 IST: First coronavirus case reported in Kremlin
The first case of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in the Kremlin on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
A Kremlin staffer has tested positive for the COVID-19. According to Peskov, President Putin was not in contact with the person who tested positive. “Indeed there are cases of the coronavirus within the administration,” Peskov was quoted by Sputnik as saying in a conference call with reporters when asked to comment on recent media reports.
“I know of one case and I can confirm it, I’m not aware of a second one… all necessary epidemiological measures are being taken to prevent the virus from spreading further,” he added.
18:46 IST: 10 new COVID-19 cases in Telangana, tally up to 59
10 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Telangana today, taking the total number of cases in the state to 59, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said.
A total of 724 positive cases of COVID-19 have been found in India, including 47 foreign nationals, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday. 17 persons have lost their lives due to this disease in the country.
18:41 IST: Kerala reports 39 new positive cases of COVID-19
Kerala reported 39 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Friday, taking the tally to 176 in the state.
“Today, We have reported 39 new cases. This takes the total positive cases in the state to 176, including 12 discharged patients. Of the 39 new cases, 34 are from Kasaragod district, two from Kannur, and one each from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Kollam districts,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. A total of 724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus
17:01 IST: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Prime Minister confirmed on twitter, “Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus. I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this,” Prime Minister Johnson has been tested positive in the same week when the 71-year old heir to the British throne, Prince Charles of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus. The Clarence House spokesperson had said, “Prince of Wales was showing mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home through the last weeks,”
The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla also tested for the coronavirus but did not have the infection. Both Prince Charles and Duchess are now self-isolating in their home in Scotland.
16:44 IST: Union Home Secretary writes to States, UTs to provide food and shelter to migrant workers
Union Home Secretary AK Bhalla has written to all States and Union Territories (UTs) to take immediate steps to provide adequate support, including food and shelter, to migrant agricultural labourers, industrial workers and other unorganised sector workers during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
They are further advised to take steps to ensure that students, working women from other States, etc. are also allowed to continue in their existing accommodation. The advisory suggests that in order to mitigate the situation for unorganised sector workers, particularly stranded migrant workers, States/UTs need to explore measures by involving various agencies, including NGOs, to provide food and shelter with basic amenities like clean drinking water, sanitation, etc.
16:36 IST: 724 confirmed COVID-19 cases in India: Health Ministry
A total of 724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
“Till now 724 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, total deaths stand at 17. In the last 24 hours, 75 new positive cases and 4 deaths have been reported,” said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry. “We have given an order to a PSU to provide 10,000 ventilators. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also been requested to purchase 30,000 additional ventilators in 1-2 months,” he added.
16:38 IST: Combating COVID-19: Anganwadis in Haryana to supply dry ration at doorsteps
Haryana Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora on Friday said that all the Anganwadis in the State have been directed to ensure the supply of dry ration of one month at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries during the next three days.
The Finance Department is releasing Rs 500 crore to all the municipalities to effectively deal with the present crisis and all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) would ensure that the funds are used only for maintaining essential services, she added. Arora was presiding over the meeting of the Crisis Coordination Committee here today.
She said that for the smooth distribution of dry ration to the beneficiaries of Anganwadis, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) would be authorised to issue area and date bound passes to the Anganwadi workers.
16:26IST Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid closed for devotees
The Mecca Masjid here has been closed for devotees, as a preventive measure to control the spread of coronavirus.
All religious places are closed for devotees in light of 21-day nationwide lockdown. Muslim clerics have also made an appeal to all the people to offer prayers at their houses itself.
16:05 IST: Xi, Trump discuss joint action against COVID-19
President Xi Jinping on Friday urged for a coordinated joint action between China and the United States to fight against the novel coronavirus, saying that he hopes that Washington will take concrete steps to improve bilateral relations.
In a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, Xi said bilateral relations are now at a critical juncture, and both nations stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation and that cooperation is the only correct choice for both sides, Peoples’ Daily China reported. Xi called for a joint effort from both sided to bolster cooperation in areas such as epidemic containment and develop a China-US relationship featuring non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.
15:49 IST: 3 more test positive for coronavirus in Noida
Three more people were tested positive for coronavirus in Noida, said officials on Friday.
“The three– including a mother and daughter are a resident of Sector 137 and the third patient lives in Greater Noida Sector 3,” said Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate BN Singh. The District Magistrate later seized both the properties on receiving the information.
Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari on Thursday morning allowed the delivery of essential commodities at consumer’s doorsteps.
Also, several vegetable stalls will be set up in multiple sectors of the region and shopkeepers have been asked to mark places on the roads to make sure that the consumers stand at a distance of at least one meter from each other.
15:26 IST: One more positive COVID-19 case in Andhra Pradesh, tally rises to 12
The Andhra Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Department has detected one more positive COVID-19 case in the state on Friday.
One man, from Andhra Pradesh had come into contact with a COVID-19 patient who had returned from England. “The latest victim, a male, is a contact of Patient number 7, who had returned from Birmingham, England. He had got in contact with the coronavirus patient on March 17 and developed symptoms.
The man was admitted to the Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad, Telangana on March 21, and has been in isolation since then. He has now tested positive for the coronavirus.
15:15 IST: Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust donates Rs 51 cr to combat COVID-19
Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust on Friday donated Rs 51 crore to Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The Central and state governments are fully prepared to fight the coronavirus which has caused havoc all over the world. The ad hoc committee of the Trust has decided to pay Rs. 51 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” Arun Dongre, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust said. Dongre said the Trust has always helped the country when it is in need.
15:01 IST: No new coronavirus case in Gujarat in last 12 hours: Jayanti Ravi
No new case of coronavirus has been reported from Gujarat in the last 12 hours, state health secretary Jayanti Ravi said on Friday.
“In the last 12 hours no coronavirus positive case has been reported in Gujarat,” Jayanti Ravi Principal Secretary (Health), Gujarat government said addressing the media here. In Gujarat so far, there are total 43 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, according to the data compiled by the Union Health Ministry. There have been 3 deaths linked to COVID-19 reported from the state so far.
As per data shared by the state health department Ahmedabad has reported 15 cases, Surat has 7, Rajkot 4, Vadodara 8, Gandhinagar 7, Bhavnagar 1 and Kutch 1.
14:11 IST: Maharashtra CM urges medical practitioners to keep clinics open amid COVID-19 lockdown
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday urged private medical practitioners to keep their clinics open to avoid inconvenience to patients during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has urged private medical practitioners to keep their clinics open and avoid causing inconvenience to the patients,” CMO tweeted. Thackeray on Thursday had said that all essential commodity shops and medicine shops will be opened 24×7 in the state.
14:35 IST: COVID-19 patient passes away in Tumakuru, Karnataka
A 65-year-old man who had tested positive for Coronavirus passed away in Tumakuru, Dr K Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Tumakuru, Karnataka said on Friday.
“The person travelled to Delhi on March 5 and returned on March 11. All passengers who had travelled with him on the train are being traced,” Dr Kumar told ANI. The number of cases tested positive for coronavirus rose to 724 on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The number of people who have been cured or discharged stands at 66 while there are 640 active COVID-19 patients in the county.
17 people have died from the disease while one case has migrated, as per the union health ministry.
14:02 IST: Prices of COVID-19 protective gear leave poor people in tough spot
With demand up for face masks and hand sanitisers, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak these items have also become pricier according to vegetable sellers in Ghazipur Sabzi mandi.
These sellers say while they have a hard time running their business, they are also facing difficulty in buying the gear that can protect them from getting infected. “The poor people are able to neither buy face masks nor hand sanitisers. The surgical masks which earlier could be bought at Rs 10 are now priced at Rs 20. Similarly, the hand sanitisers which were earlier priced at Rs 40-50 is now Rs 150,” said Chaman Rehman, a wholesale dealer at the Ghazipur Mandi.
13:27 IST: Delhi to feed about 4 lakh people daily, preps to tackle if COVID-19 cases rise, says Arvind Kejriwal
The Delhi government has arranged to serve lunch and dinner to the needy in 325 schools in Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday amid reports of people going hungry without access to food during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
From Saturday, arrangements will be put in place to feed about four lakh people daily at different centres across Delhi, he said addressing the media. “We have made arrangements to provide lunch and dinner in 325 schools. Around 500 people will be provided with food in all these schools. So far we were providing food to 20,000 people daily, the number will now increase to around 2,00,000 from today.”
11:09 IST: India’s tally of COVID-19 cases rises to 724
The number of cases tested positive for coronavirus rose to 724 on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
There has been 30 new cases reported in the country since Thursday night (8 pm). The number of people who have been cured or discharged stands at 66 while there are 640 active COVID-19 patients in the county.
17 people have died from the disease while one case has migrated, as per the union health ministry. Cases have been reported from 27 states/Union Territories.
Maharashtra has reported one more death since Thursday night, taking the total death toll in the state to 4, the highest so far in the country. The state has 130 COVID-19 infected people. Kerala has reported 19 fresh COVID-19 cases since Thursday and now the state’s total tally of infected persons stands at 137, which is the highest in India.
10:41 IST: 3 coronavirus patients in Pune recover, set to go home
Three COVID-19 patients have recovered and are set to get discharged from the hospital after they tested negative for the deadly virus.
This development was shared by Shravan Hardikar, Municipal Commissioner Pimpri-Chinchwad, with the media on Friday. Notably, earlier, five people were discharged after they recovered from the virus.
At present, the total positive cases of COVID-19 in Pune stands at 32, out of which eight have already recovered.
10:25 IST: RBI announces 3-month moratorium on EMI Installments
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today in a press conference announced a moratorium on term loans for up to three months. RBI governor said, “Moratorium on term loans- all commercial, regional rural, and NBFCS and small finance banks are being permitted to allow 3-month moratorium on payment of instalments in respect of all term loans outstanding on 31 March 2020.”
10:21 IST: Repo rate reduced by 75 points to 4.4 per cent: RBI Governor Das
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced a reduction in the repo and reverse repo rate on Friday.
“The repo rate has been reduced by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent. The reserve repo rate has been reduced by 90 basis points to 4 per cent,” Das said addressing the media. The decision for “a sizeable reduction” in the policy repo rate, according to the RBI Governor was taken to “revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and ensure financial stability.”
10:01 IST Two more COVID-19 cases in Bihar, count reaches 9
Two more COVID-19 cases have surfaced in Bihar, said an official from Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRI).
“Two more coronavirus positive cases found in Bihar – one from Siwan with travel history to Dubai and another from Nalanda with no travel history to any foreign country,” said RMRI official. The official said that with the surfacing of two new cases the total number of positive cases in the state has mounted to 9.
09:45 IST: Grocery shops will remain open, no need to hurry: Goa Police
Amid the lockdown imposed by the Centre to combat the coronavirus threat, Goa Police on Friday issued an advisory urging people not to rush to grocery shops as they will be open round the clock.
“Since grocery shops will remain open 24×7 as announced by the Chief Minister, Goa Police advises people not to rush to buy their groceries. The shops will continue to remain open for the entire period of lockdown so people need not hurry,” the advisory read. The advisory also asked people to not bring their vehicles at shops as that would hinder forming of queues and social distancing norms. “Goa Police would take legal action for violating these directions under the MV Act and relevant provisions of IPC — this would be strictly enforced. We expect the public to reciprocate by following directions of not bringing vehicles,” the note added.
09:45 IST: COVID-19: Hydroxychloroquine brought under Schedule H1 by Health Ministry
In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday issued a directive stating that the sale of any preparation containing the drug Hydroxychloroquine needs to be in accordance with the conditions for the sale of drugs as mentioned in Schedule H1 to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
“Whereas the Central Government is satisfied that the drug ‘Hydroxychloroquine’ is essential to meet the requirements of emergency arising due to pandemic COVID-19 and in the public interest, it is necessary and expedient to regulate and restrict the sale and distributions of the drug and preparation based thereon for preventing their misuse,” read the order issued by the Health Ministry. “The Central government hereby directs that sale by retail of any preparation containing the drug Hydroxychloroquine shall be in accordance with the conditions for the sale of drugs specified in Schedule H1 to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945,” the order further read.
09:26 IST: Second COVID-19 case detected in Andamans, says Chief Secretary
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday reported its second positive case of COVID-19. The man who tested positive had travelled with the first positive coronavirus patient of the Union territory.
Chetan Sanghi, Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said both the patients have been kept in an isolation ward of a hospital and necessary health protocols are being followed. “Second positive case of COVID-19 in Andamans He had travelled with the first positive case. Both in Hospital and protocols being followed,” he tweeted.
On Thursday, the first coronavirus positive case was reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
09:38 IST: Mother Dairy offers to set up additional kiosks amid COVID-19 lockdown
Amid reports of difficulties being faced by people in procuring milk and other dairy products due to the ongoing lockdown, Mother Dairy on Friday asked residents to reach out to the company if they were seeking to put up a kiosk within their society premises.
“Mother Dairy is with you at this difficult time. If you want to put up a kiosk within your society premises, please DM us your number and location and we will evaluate on priority. Team Mother Dairy,” a tweet by the official handle of the company read. The stores of the company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which is one of the largest suppliers of milk and dairy in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), apart from other locations, have remained open and catered to the needs of the people during the lockdown period.
