Coronavirus cases climb to 151; India evacuates 405 citizens stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport

New Delhi, March 18

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 151 on Wednesday, according to the Health Ministry.

The cases include 25 foreign nationals and the three persons who died in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Over 5,700 people, who had come in contact with these positive cases, are under rigorous surveillance, the Ministry said.

Delhi has so far reported ten positive cases, which includes one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 16 cases, including one foreigner.

Maharashtra has 42 cases, including three foreigners, while Kerala has recorded 27 cases which include two foreign nationals.

Karnataka has 11 coronavirus patients. The number of cases in Ladakh rose to eight and Jammu and Kashmir three. Telangana has reported six cases which include two foreigners.

Rajasthan has also reported four cases including that of two foreigners. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Punjab have reported one case each.

In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include fourteen foreigners.

According to the ministry’s data, 14 people have been discharged so far, including the three patients from Kerala who were discharged last month.

Three persons infected with the virus have died so far, the latest casualty being a 64-year-old man from Mumbai with a travel history to Dubai who succumbed on Tuesday.

A 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who returned from Saudi Arabia and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus were the other deceased.

The government on Tuesday banned the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines and Malaysia to India with immediate effect, according to an additional travel advisory.

This instruction is a temporary measure and shall be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently.

With coronavirus cases swelling in the country, the government has also banned the entry of passengers from the European Union countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31.

Highlights

10:15 pm: HRD Ministry's National Testing Agency postpones JEE for IIT, engineering college admissions. 

10:00 pm: CBSE reschedules Class 10, Class 12 board exams.

8:30 pm: Noida Police invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to prohibit mass gatherings like social or political congregations, trade fairs and rallies etc till April 5.

7:12 pm: HRD Ministry to launch e-classes on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students.

7:10 pm: Two more coronavirus cases were reported in Gurugram. One patient is a 22-year-old resident of Palam Vihar who just returned from London, where she was studying. The second is a woman From Gurgram’s sector 50 who has been admitted to Safdarjung.

7:10 pm:  Gurugram District Magistrate has ordered malls to be close down until March 31 with “immediate effect”. According to the order, only pharmacies, medical establishments, grocery stores and supermarkets can remain open.  

6:46 pm: AP orders shutdown of all educational institutions  

5:30 pm: More than 60 per cent train tickets cancelled in March this year in view of coronavirus, railway officials inform Parliamentary panel. Railway Board chairman slammed by Parl panel for being unprepared, making shoddy presentation at such sensitive time: sources 

04:05 pm: Four passengers with 'home quarantine' stamp deboarded from Garib Rath. 

4:04 pm: In Gurugram, authorities have ordered gatherings should not exceed 50 people. The decision was made at a meeting between the district administration and Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Rajiv Arora Wednesday morning.

4:00 pm: Two more people tested positive for the virus in Bengaluru and one more in Noida.

India evacuates over 400 nations stranded in Malaysia       

India has evacuated its 405 citizens, including students, stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Indian High Commission here said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Indian government approved AirAsia flights for Delhi and Vizag to help the stranded Indians.

"Thanks @AirAsia for flying out 405 stranded Indians transiting thru KLIA in Spl flights to Delhi and Vizag today. Kudos to @hcikl officials for working tirelessly since yesterday to make it happen," the High Commission tweeted.

The Indian nationals were stuck at the airport after the government, which on Monday banned the entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey, the UK from March 18 till March 31, also closed its doors to those from Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia with immediate effect.

"Appreciate the difficult situation of Indian students and other passengers waiting in transit at Kuala Lumpur airport. We have now approved  Air Asia flights for you to Delhi and Vizag," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Tuesday.

"These are tough times and you should understand the precautions. Please contact the airline," he said.

More cases

Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramulu on Wednesday confirmed two more positive coronavirus cases in the state, raising the total to 13.

"Two more COVID-19 cases have been registered in Bengaluru on Wednesday, taking the total infected cases to 13," tweeted Sriramulu.

He said the two new cases included a 56-year-old city-based man who returned from the US on March 6 and a 25-year-old woman who returned from Spain.

"Both are admitted in a designated isolated hospital," Sriramulu added.

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.

"The sample of this person, who lives in Sector 41 of Noida, was taken four days ago and he has tested positive for coronavirus. He has been admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida for treatment," Bhargava said in a statement.

He said the infected person's house and nearby areas are being sanitised.

Noida Police invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to prohibit mass gatherings like social or political congregations, trade fairs and rallies etc till April 5. Police said it was using its powers under the CrPC Section 144 to prohibit mass gatherings.

On Tuesday, four more cases were reported from the National Capital Region. Two people from Noida who recently returned from France had tested positive for coronavirus, according to officials.

Two more coronavirus cases were reported in Gurugram. One patient is a 22-year-old resident of Palam Vihar who just returned from London, where she was studying. The second is a woman From Gurgram’s sector 50 who has been admitted to Safdarjung.  

Pune's National Institute of Virology has only confirmed one case from Gurugram so far. Reports of the other three from Gurugram are still awaited.

Meanwhile, Gurgaon District Magistrate has ordered malls and several commercial establishments to be closed down until March 31 with “immediate effect”. According to the order, only pharmacies, medical establishments, grocery stores and super markets can remain open.

Officials said one resident of Delhi had earlier tested positive for coronavirus in Noida.

Meanwhile, as authorities continued to grapple with the escalating situation, reports of isolation patients going rogue added to the chaos. Four Germany-returned passengers with 'home quarantine' stamp on their hands were de-boarded from the Bandra Terminus-Delhi Garibrath Express train at Palghar station, around 100 km from Mumbai, on Wednesday after co-passengers raised an alarm, the Western Railway said.

In Lucknow, a junior doctor in King George's Medical University (KGMU) tested positive for coronavirus. This is the third COVID-19 case to test positive in the Uttar Pradesh capital, taking the total number reported cases to 16 in the state so far.

The junior doctor has been quarantined in the KGMU. He was a part of the medical team that has been treating COVID-19 patients.

Earlier, a woman doctor and her relative had tested positive for the deadly virus and have been undergoing treatment in the KGMU.

The 16 corona patients in the state have been reported from Agra (8), Lucknow (3), Noida (3) and Ghaziabad (2).

Health officials said that three corona patients had recovered fully and had bene discharged while the rest were still under treatment.

India provided 15 tonnes of medical supplies to coronavirus-hit China: Centre

India provided 15 tonnes of medical supplies to coronavirus-hit China comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment at a cost of about Rs 2.11 crore, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the medical supplies included one lakh surgical masks, five lakh pairs of surgical gloves, 75 pieces of infusion pumps, 30 pieces of enteral feeding pumps, 21 pieces of defibrillator and 4,000 pieces of N-95 masks.

These medical supplies cost approximately Rs 2.11 crore and were handed over to the Hubei Charity Federation in Wuhan, Muraleedharan said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, 2020, in view of the coronavirus outbreak in China, conveying the solidarity of the Indian government and its people with the neighbouring nation and the readiness to provide assistance, he said.

The government provided 15 tonnes of medical supplies comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment to China on February 26, 2020, he said.

These supplies were delivered by an Indian Air Force C-17 special flight which landed in Wuhan, China, Muraleedharan said.

To a separate question, he said the government organised three special flights on January 31, February 1 and February 26 to evacuate 766 people, including students, from Wuhan as well as other cities of Hubei province in China in view of the continuing lockdown of the province.

The evacuated persons included 723 Indian nationals and 43 foreigners---23 from Bangladesh, nine from Maldives, two from Myanmar and one each from South Africa, Madagascar and United States, Muraleedharan said.

"In addition, six Chinese citizens who were spouses and/or children of Indian nationals were also evacuated," he said. Agencies

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.