Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Total COVID-19 cases in India reaches 258; woman who visited Scotland tests positive in Bengal

Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Total COVID-19 cases in India reaches 258; woman who visited Scotland tests positive in Bengal

Consumption of poultry products have no role on COVID-19

Experts from National Institute of Virology, Pune, JJ Hospital, Mumbai and Sasson Hospital in Pune clarified that consumption of chicken is not linked with the coronavirus infection.

On the contrary, chicken and chicken products consumption has gone up in the US, China and other developed countries.

The Maharashtra Police (Cyber Crime Cell) have arrested two people for spreading fake news about linking coronavirus with consumption of chicken and eggs.

West Bengal reports third positive case

A woman with a recent travel history to Scotland has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making it the third confirmed case in West Bengal, a state health department official said on Saturday.

 

The woman, in her early 20s, returned from Scotland on 16 March and was subsequently admitted to the Beliaghata ID Hospital in the city with symptoms of COVID-19, the official said.

 

The woman is a resident of Habra in North 24 Parganas district. The official, however, could not confirm whether she was on home quarantine as per the protocol after returning from abroad.

 

Before this, two persons with travel history to abroad have been reported positive for the virus in West Bengal. 

Confirmed cases climb to 258

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 258. Of the total 258, 219 are Indian nationals and 39 are foreigners. 

The total number of people who have been cured, discharged or migrated stood at 23. So far, four deaths have been reported.

Environment Ministry suspends meetings of its green panel till 31 March 

The Environment Ministry has put all meetings of its expert appraisal committees (EAC), responsible for issuing green clearances, on hold till 31 March amid a spurt in new coronavirus cases across the country, a top environment ministry official said.

"We have put all (meetings of) EACs on hold due to the situation. No meeting will take place till 31 March. One meeting means 50-60 people coming together. So we will not have that," the official said.

Among the projects pending before the committees is a proposal to construct a new Parliament building, a part of the government's ambitious plan to redevelop the Central Vista.

Fresh case in Gujarat as 52 yr-old man tests positive in Vadodara; total cases at 8

Another new case of coronavirus has been reported in Gujarat after a 52-year-old man who returned from Sri Lanka tested positive in Vadodara.

With this the number of infected individuals in the state has risen to eight. 

According to reports, the patient went to Sri Lanka and upon returning his health has been deteriorating. He was sent to SSG Government Hospital, Vadodara, and has been undergoing treatment since 18 March.

Nepal, Bhutan pledge contribution to COVID-19 SAARC emergency fund

Nepal and Bhutan have pitched in for the COVID-19 emergency fund for South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries which was envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kathmandu has announced 10 crore Nepali Rupees for the fund while Bhutan has announced $100,000 for it.

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced it during his Friday evening address to the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, "I want to inform you that Nepal will contribute Rs 10 crores in this fund set up with the objective to provide requisite help to the SAARC nations"

The Bhutan foreign office in a statement said, "The Royal Government of Bhutan has welcomed the establishment of the Emergency Fund and has decided to make an initial contribution of $100,000 (US Dollar One Hundred Thousand only)."

US blames China, Russia and Iran for 'disinformation campaign'

The United States on Friday blamed Russia, China and Iran for the alleged "disinformation campaign" against it on the coronavirus and urged its citizens to be aware about this on social media.

"I wanted to talk about the disinformation the people are seeing both on Twitter and around the world. Some of it coming from government, some of it coming from other individuals," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at a White House news conference.

He identified three countries for this "disinformation campaign". "It is pretty defused unfortunately but we have certainly seen it come from places like China and Russia and Iran where there are coordinated efforts to disparage what America is doing and our activity to do all of the things that President (Donald) Trump has set in motion here," Pompeo said.

Railway ministry cancels 3,700 trains till Sunday 10 pm in line with Modi's appeal for day-long curfew

The Indian Railways on Friday said it has cancelled 3,700 trains from Saturday midnight till Sunday 10 pm, in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal of a day-long curfew to contain the spread of coronavirus.

On Thursday evening, Modi called for a people’s curfew on Sunday in a drastic step by his administration to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases. In an address to the nation, Modi asked citizens to voluntarily stay indoors from  7 am till 9 pm.

Suburban train services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderbad will be reduced to 'bare minimum', an official statement said.

"Actual no of trains to be run on 20 March will be decided by the respective zonal railways as per the assessment of local conditions and requirements," it said. 

Kerala confirms 12 new cases, tally at 37

Kerala confirmed 12 more COVID-19 cases on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. In a first, two MLAs in the state were also placed under quarantine on Friday after they came in contact with coronavirus patients. Following the increase in fresh cases, passenger vehicles from Kerala reeled under a shut down of borders from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Six of the new patients are from Kasargode district, another one is from Palakkad and the rest five are in Ernakulam district, said Vijayan. All have a recent travel history. With the new patients included, Kerala has a total of 37 active cases now.

New York bans gatherings, nonessential workers to stay home

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced sweeping orders on Friday that will severely restrict gatherings of any size for the state's more than 19 million residents and will require workers in nonessential businesses to stay home.

The Democratic governor said the "drastic action" was needed to check the rapid spread of the coronavirus virus in a state with more than 8,000 confirmed cases, the most in the nation.

New York’s restrictions, effective 8 pm Sunday, come a day after California decided to all but confine its population in the biggest lockdown in the US. "No, this is not life as usual," Cuomo said at a news conference,adding, "Accept it, and realize it, and deal with it."

China sees zero local coronavirus cases for third day

Mainland China reported zero locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus for a third day running, while the daily log of infections involving travellers arriving from other countries continued to rise.

Mainland China had 41 cases from foreign transmission on Friday, the country’s National Health Commission said. That brought the total number of imported cases to 269.

High in the charts was Beijing, with 14 new imported cases. Shanghai and six provinces also identified such cases.

That brought the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 81,008, the health authority said in a statement on Saturday.