Corona Virus in India has been raised to 149

Coronavirus has infected more than 198,000 people and killed more than 7,900 across the world. Of these, China has over 80,800 positive cases while Italy’s tally stands over 27, 900. Total cases in India have risen to 149, as per the Union health ministry. Three persons have lost their lives in India due to the virus.  India reported its third death from the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday. The number of COVID-19 cases tested positive in India is 149 and there are 132 active cases.

One more test positive in Noida

A resident of Noida, who recently returned from Indonesia, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Gautam Buddh Nagar health officials said on Wednesday.

The total number of positive cases for the COVID-19 in the district now stands at four, Chief Medical Officer Anurag Bhargava said.

Maharashtra to open seven more labs for testing

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said seven more laboratories will come up across the state for testing suspected novel coronavirus cases. At present, only three labs are operating in the state at Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune where samples of suspected persons are tested.

“KEM, JJ Hospital and Haffkine Institute will soon get the testing facilities. Most likely they will commence operations in the next five days,” Tope told reporters.Similar laboratories will come up in different parts of the state, he added.

276 Indians with coronavirus abroad

As many as 276 Indians infected with coronavirus are abroad, the Ministry of External Affairs informed the parliament today.

This includes 255 in Iran and 12 in UAE. One Indian each has tested positive in Rwanda, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. As many as 12 people are being treated in Italy.  The Indian Embassies in the respective countries are in touch with such Indian citizens regarding appropriate medical attention in cooperation with local authorities.

Two more test positive in Karnataka

Two more positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Karnataka, taking the total number of cases to 13.

The two new cases are a 56-year-old male, a resident of Bengaluru who returned from USA on 6th March, and another 25-year-old female, who returned from Spain around the same time.

Both have been quarantined and are being treated in designated isolated hospitals in the city.

Big Temple to closed for devotees till March 31

The Big Temple in Thanjavur will remain closed for devotees and tourists till March 31, according to the Collector, M.Govinda Rao.

Regular pujas would continue to be performed at the Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple. The closure of the temple for devotees and the tourists was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent possible spreading of the COVID-19 virus, he said.

South Indian film industry comes to a standstill

Film industries in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana have to come to a standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak in various parts of the country. Kerala was the first state to shut down theaters in the south followed by Karnataka, Telangana, and now, Tamil Nadu also joined hands to fight against the novel virus.

In his official statement, RK Selvamani, President of FEFSI said: “We have decided to not take part in the film and TV serial shoots from March 19. Our members will not participate in any form of shoots until the country gets back to normalcy. Yes, this is a tough time and the revenue loss is going to be very huge for producers and daily wagers in the film industry but considering the life-threatening situation and keeping the safety of our workers in mind, we have taken this decision”.

Norway national tests positive in Goa

A Norwegian man on Wednesday tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in Goa, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said. The man had travelled to Delhi, Agra, Assam and Meghalaya after leaving Norway on 6 February, he said.

“The man came to Goa on 20 February. He was having fever since 10 March and was isolated as a suspect in hospital in Panaji,” the minister told PTI.

Bihar govt. declares COVID-19 an epidemic

The Bihar government has declared COVID-19 as an epidemic and issued the Bihar Epidemic Diseases COVID-19 Regulation 2020.

The regulation has given legal powers to government officials to conduct mass screening of suspected patients, including forcible isolation, sealing of any geographical area and taking punitive action against those hiding symptoms of the virus, running away from isolation centres or spreading misinformation. — Amarnath Tewary

Covid-19 restrictions to continue for another week

The existing COVID-19 restrictions in Karnataka are all set to be continued for another week, said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

“There is a need to take all possible measures to ensure that the disease is contained in the State. We will discuss about in the cabinet meeting scheduled in the afternoon and make an announcement,” he told reporters.

No fresh coronavirus case in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, says BMC

Number of novel coronavirus cases in Mumbai remained constant and no new case was recorded on Wednesday morning, a senior civic official said. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said the number of COVID-19 cases remained constant in the metropolis with no fresh case being detected till 11 am.

Until now, 15 COVID-19 cases have been found in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

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Corona Virus Tale for Kids : Virus Vs Vayuu

Even though most of us seem to be talking about COVID-19 all the time, there is a lot of confusion among the general public. Especially children.

While schools declared holidays, netizens shared how some students seemed to be owing the holiday to ‘Corona tyohar (festival)’. In times like these, Ravindra Khaiwal, additional professor of environmental health, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health PGIMER along with Suman Mor, Department of Environment studies Panjab University, Chandigarh brought out Kids, Vaayu and Corona: who wins the fight?. It is a comic, aimed at COVID-19 awareness.

In the 22-page online comic, Vaayu is a superhero. Dressed in white shirt and blue cape, he is also the narrator of the comic. He doesn’t just explain children about the virus but also tells them how one can be protect themselves from it.

for more details visit : https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/kids-vaayu-corona-who-wins-the-fight-dr-ravindra-khaiwal-dr-suman-mor-corona-virus-covid-19-ministry-of-health-cbse/article31090315.ece?homepage=true

CoronaVirus cases increased to 140 in India,Maharastra still leading

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday said that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India rose to 140, with Delhi reporting eight cases, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha reporting one case each, Haryana reporting 15 cases, Karnataka reporting 11 cases, Kerala reporting 26 cases, Maharashtra reporting 41 cases, Telangana reporting five cases, union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh reporting three and six cases respectively, and Uttar Pradesh reporting 15 cases.

Mumbai Corporation begins stamping hands of those under home quarantine

From Monday onwards, BMC started putting a stamp on the back of their left hands stating, “Proud to protect Mumbaikars. Home quarantined.” The stamp is made of indelible ink similar to the one used to mark voters and the stamp also has a date until which the person is supposed to be quarantined. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started stamping the hands of those advised to undergo home quarantine for Covid-19 to prevent them from mingling in public.

Maharashtra reports two new COVID-19 cases

Maharashtra, one of the worst-hit states by the spread of the novel coronavirus in India, on Tuesday reported two new cases of the flu-like disease that has claimed more than 5,000 lives worldwide.

The state government said that two people having travel history with the US tested positive in Mumbai and Pune, taking the total cases in the state to 41.

Public transport to remain open in Maharashtra: CM

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, speaking to the media after a meeting with authorities over measures taken to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state after the first death was reported on Tuesday, said that public transport will not be shut in the state. He also said that government office will not be shut.

“Trains and buses are essential services so we are not stopping them as of now but if people don’t listen to our advice and don’t avoid unnecessary travel, then we will think about that too. Next 15-20 days are very crucial for us,” he said.

GoAir suspends international flights from 17 March to 15 April

The GoAir airlines has suspended its international operations on Monday in view of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

“GoAir is forced to take certain measures — we are temporarily suspending all our international operations, starting 17th March 2020 until 15th April 2020. GoAir has also initiated a short term and temporary rotational leave without pay program that will not only help the company counter the short term reduction in capacity, but will also ensure that a cross section of our employees stay away from the workplace to ensure business continuity. Knowing that this will put a financial burden on the affected employees and having studied what companies have done in other countries to help guide our plans, this decision was not taken lightly,” the statement read.

Indian railway increases platform ticket

An Indian Railways official on Tuesday said that the price of platform tickets has been increased to Rs 50 at about 250 stations in six divisions, Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ratlam, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, till further orders, to ensure crowd control. The Central Railways has increased the price of platform tickets in the Pune, Solapur, and Bhusawal divisions from Rs 10 to Rs 50, the public relations officer (PRO) was quoted as saying by ANI on Tuesday. The move is with the aim to curb crowding on stations as authorities doubled down on efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus in the state.

All govt offices to shut in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday decided to shut government offices for seven days due to the spread of coronavirus in the country, CNN-News18 reported.

Himachal Pradesh govt shuts religious sites

The Himachal Pradesh department of health and family welfare on Tuesday shut places of religious worship for the public in light of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

“Entry of public at large in places of religious worship shall be stopped till further orders. Rituals as per established practice will be performed and if possible webcasting of the same may be done by management,” the notification was quoted as saying.

Cricket Australia planning to host T20 World Cup as per schedule

Cricket Australia is planning to host the men’s T20 World Cup as per schedule in October despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a collapse of sports events worldwide.”None of us are experts in this situation obviously, so our hope is that we’re back in very much normal circumstances come October and November when the men’s T20 World Cup is to be played,” CA chief Kevin Roberts was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.The men’s T20 World Cup is slated to begin with the pre-qualifiers from 18-23 October followed by the main 12-team competition from 24 October. The final will be played on 15 November at the MCG.


Rich menu, books to read to make suspected COVID-19 patients comfortable

A rich menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner and supply of books are among steps taken to provide the comfort factor to 17 coronavirus suspect patients, isolated at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kerala.

A separate menu has been prepared for the 15 Indian patients – all Keralites – and the two U.K nationals, said Dr Ganesh Mohan, Resident Medical Officer of the hospital at Kalamassery. While the Indians are served dosa, sambar, two eggs, two oranges, tea and one litre mineral water at 7.30 AM, the Britishers are served toast, omelette without onions, soup and fruit juice.

Fruit juice is served for the Indians at 10.30 am before lunch at 12 noon, which comprise two chappatis, rice, fish fry, thoran (dish of sauteed vegetables) curry, curd and one litre mineral water. The foreign nationals are served pineapple juice at 11 am and toast cheese (if needed) and fruits for lunch at 12 noon.

At 3.30 pm, the Keralites are given tea, biscuits, banana fry and vada. Dinner at 7 pm includes appam, vegetable stew, two bananas and one litre mineral water. The UK nationals are given fruit juice at 4 pm and toasted bread, scrambled eggs and fruits for dinner.