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.
Follow all live updates related to Coronavirus:
19:51 IST: PM Modi announces PM-CARES Fund for fight against coronavirus
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the creation of the PM-Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (CARES) Fund and urged people to make donations to support the government in fight against coronavirus.
“Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been constituted. This will go a long way in creating a healthier India. People from all walks of life can donate to this fund,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
19:40 IST: 481 evacuees from Italy being looked after at ITBP Chhawla Quarantine Facility
As many as 481 Indians evacuated from Milan and Rome in Italy are being looked after at Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Chhawla Quarantine Facility here. No fresh symptoms have been seen among them.
All people are being given all basic facilities required at the Centre as done with the previous lot of evacuees. Daily monitoring and checkups is also be undertaken by ITBP medicos. The expected quarantine period is 14 days plus.
19:11 IST: Total positive cases of COVID-19 rises to 918: Health Ministry
The total number of coronavirus positive cases in the country has risen to 918 that include foreign nationals, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.
The ministry said: “The total positive cases of coronavirus are 918. The active COVID-19 cases are 819. Cured and discharged are 79. While 19 deaths have occurred so far. One person with COVID-19 migrated. As many as 15,24,266 passengers were screened at airports.”
18:19 IST: 4 new coronavirus positive cases reported in Rajasthan
Four new positive cases of coronavirus including two staffers from Bangar Hospital, in Bhilwara, have been reported in the state on Saturday.
Rajasthan’s Health Department said, “Four new Coronavirus positive cases (including two nursing staff of Bangar Hospital, Bhilwara)have been reported in the state today; the total number of positive cases in Rajasthan now stands at 54.”
18:01 IST: Telangana govt allows essential manufacturing units to operate during lockdown
The Telangana government on Saturday allowed the functioning of manufacturing units engaged in the production of essential commodities during the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“As a precautionary measure, all shops, commercial establishments, offices, factories, workshops and godowns shall close their operations. However, production and manufacturing units which require continuous process such as pharmaceuticals and API may function,” an order read. It said that the state government has issued orders notifying lockdown till March 31 in the state.
“Further, manufacturing units engaged in the production of essential commodities like dal mills, rice mills, dairy units, food and related units, feed and fodder units will also be permitted to operate,” the order said.
17:25 IST: States to provide relief to migrant labourers using SDRF funds: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that all the States have been directed to provide temporary accommodation, food, medical care and other necessary facilities to migrant labourers during the nationwide lockdown using SDRF’s funds.
“On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guidance, today all the States have been directed in view of COVID-19 to provide temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, etc., to all the homeless people, migrant laborers and those who are staying in relief camps due to the lockdown, using the SDRF’s fund allocation,” tweeted Shah. The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that the people should be given shelter in relief camps’ under SDRF fund allocations.
17:21 IST: 5 new coronavirus positive cases found in Noida today: DM BN Singh
District Magistrate (DM) BN Singh on Saturday informed that 5 new coronavirus positive cases have been found in the city.
On Friday, three people were tested positive for the same. “The three-including a mother and daughter are a resident of Sector 137 and 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 reciving the infomration.
Prior to that, Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari on Thursday morning allowed the delivery of essential commodities at consumer’s doorsteps.
This came after Prime Minster Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with spread of the coronavirus, saying that ” social distancing” is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
16:35 IST: States, UTs should spread awareness about relief camps: MHA
Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, on Saturday said that States and Union Territories have been requested to set up relief camps for migrant workers.
She said the States and Union Territories should also spread awareness about these facilities. “We have requested States and UTs to set up relief camps with arrangements of food and water for migrant workers. They should also spread awareness about these arrangements via public address system, volunteers and NGOs,” Srivastava told media here.
15:14 IST: 5000 bottles of hand sanitizers worth over Rs 2.5 lakhs seized by Mumbai crime branch
The Crime Branch of Mumbai Police seized 5000 bottles of hand sanitizers worth over Rs 2.5 lakhs from a medical store in Mahim area on Friday.
The Mumbai police is conducting raids to curb hoardings of essential items amid rising COVID-19 cases. Three people have been arrested for allegedly selling them at higher prices and the godown has been sealed. Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has climbed to 873, including 19 deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.
14:46 IST: Kerala religious leaders urge people to follow restrictions imposed on entry to pilgrim centres
Religious leaders in Kerala, including that of the Christian community, on Saturday said that certain restrictions have been placed on the entry to pilgrim centres in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and urged all to comply with government orders.
13:53 IST: Kerala confirms first COVID-19 death
The Kerala government on Saturday reported the first death in the state due to coronavirus.
“A 69-year-old man died due to coronavirus at Kochi Medical College today,” said Dr NK Kuttappan Ernakulam District Medical Officer. This comes in the backdrop of the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which confirmed the total number of positive COVID-19 cases as 873, of which 173 cases were reported in Kerala.
13:41 IST: 4 Gujarat workers returning home after lockdown killed in accident
Four migrant workers from Gujarat were killed after being hit by a tempo in Palghar while they were walking back to their villages about 600 km away following the nationwide lockdown
Three others have also received serious injuries in the incident that took place on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in the wee hours of Saturday. Virar Police have registered a case against unidentified persons and an investigation is underway in the case.
The Prime Minister had announced the lockdown to check the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus which has brought the world to its knees.
12:33 IST: Samples for COVID-19 testing transported to Pune by Naval aircraft
Sixty samples for COVID-19 testing were ferried by an Indian Navy Dornier aircraft which took off from INS Hansa to Pune.
The samples were carried by a technician from Goa state health department, Defence Wing officials said. The Goan medical team had earlier been airlifted to Pune on March 25 for COVID-19 test facility setup training at National Institute of Virology (NIV) and was brought back by another naval aircraft the following day.
12:08 IST: Nepal registers fourth case of COVID-19
Ministry of Health and Population here on Saturday confirmed that a fourth person from the western part of the land-locked country has tested positive for COVID-19.
The 34-year-old man had just returned from the United Arab Emirates, Bikash Devkota, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, told Kathmandu Post. The National Public Health Laboratory, under the Department of Health Services, tested the specimens of the patient and confirmed a positive result on Friday.
12:01 IST: ‘Bhilwara ready with facility to quarantine 15,000 people if needed’
Bhilwara in Rajasthan, which is among the worst-hit disrict in the state with most positive coronavirus cases, is ready with an arrangement to quarantine 15,000 people, if the need arise, an official said.
Along with the present quarantine facility for 400 people, the district administration has acquired 1,541 single rooms at various hospitals. Apart from present quarantine facility for 400, we have acquired 1,541 single rooms at various hotels. We have also marked places to set up 13,000 beds. We are ready with arrangement to quarantine 15,000 people, if required,” Bhilwara District Collector (DC) R Bhatt told media persons.
On Friday, Principal, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Rajan Nanda, informed that a COVID-19 positive patient, who had comorbid conditions including diseases relating to kidney and blood pressure, died in Bhilwara.
11:45 IST: Rajasthan COVID-19 tally reaches 52 with two new cases
Two new coronavirus positive cases were registered in Rajasthan on Saturday taking the total number of cases to 52 in the State.
While one COVID-19 case is of a 23-year-old man in Ajmer, the other is of a 21-year-old woman from Bhilwara. The former has been admitted to JLN hospital in Ajmer while the latter is receiving treatment at Bangar hospital in Bhilwara city.
11:20 IST: Indian-Americans offer free accommodation to stranded Indian students
The Indian-American community is giving some ray of hope to the Indian students who are stranded in the United States due to a lockdown imposed in countries to contain COVID-19. A group of hoteliers and small business owners of Indian heritage have opened their hearts and offered free accommodation in their hotels and homes to those Indian students stranded in the US, in the aftermath of the lockdown measures undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the spread of the contagious infection.
The hoteliers first floated the idea through a social networking group that included only four members. But the idea gradually picked up momentum with other hoteliers who also pitched in later and opened doors to students finding trouble in returning home.
From Los Angeles to Hawaii and New York, the Indian-American community has managed to rope in 5,000 plus rooms offering free stay.
11:15 IST: Meghalaya CM reviews arrangements for selling essential commodities
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday took to streets to review preparedness of concerned authorities to contain coronavirus spread and arrangements made for selling essential commodities amid the nationwide lockdown.
No positive COVID-19 case has been reported in the state so far. During his visit, the Chief Minister was seen spreading awareness among people about the practice of social distancing to prevent coronavirus transmission.
He directed people to maintain a distance of at least one metre between them and asked them to follow the marks drawn on the road while queuing up for stocking on groceries. He further asked policeman to keep note that people follow guidelines.
10:31 IST: 873 confirmed COVID-19 cases in India, says Health Ministry
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India rose to 873 on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The total number of active cases in the country rose to 775, while 78 patients have been cured and discharged. The number of deaths due to the infection stood at 19, while one patient has migrated.
While Maharashtra with 180 cases has the most number of COVID-19 patients, Kerala comes second in the list with 173 confirmed cases, as of 9:30 am according to the Ministry.
However, the tally of Maharashtra and Kerala also includes cured and discharged patients, 25 and 11 respectively, as well.
On Friday, Union Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava said that all States and Union Territories (UTs) have been requested to take immediate steps to provide adequate support, including food and shelter, to migrant agricultural laborers, industrial workers, and other unorganised sector workers during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.
“States and Union Territories have been requested to make arrangements for food, water and sanitation for the migrant laborers. Hotels and rented accommodation should stay open and functional while taking all the COVID-19 precautions,” she said.
10:21 IST: Andhra and Karnataka govts carry out joint quarantine operations for migrant labourers amid lockdown
The state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka carried out a joint quarantine operation to help over a thousand migrant labourers from various districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh administration received the information that 1,334 migrant labourers were trying to return to the state after obtaining passes from the Deputy Director of Fisheries in Mangalore, Karnataka. The labourers, according to a press release by the Andhra Pradesh government, were headed towards the Nangili Toll Plaza in Kolar district, from where they would enter the state to return to their native places.
“The Chittoor Collector, Superintendent of Police and Sub-Collector rushed to the spot to coordinate with their counterparts from Kolar, Karnataka. The migrant workers were not permitted to enter AP due to the lockdown and the guidelines of the Union as well as state government,” according to the release.
09:54 IST: Dehradun restaurants can remain open for take away, food deliveries from today
Dehradun district administration has allowed all restaurants in the city to keep their kitchens open for take away and food deliveries from Saturday amid 21-day nationwide lockdown.
The vehicles of people rendering and availing essential services will not be stopped. “Restaurants in Dehradun can keep their kitchens open for take away/food deliveries from today, amid coronavirus lockdown. Also, vehicles of people rendering/availing essential services will not be stopped,” Dehradun District Magistrate Ashish Kumar Srivastava told ANI. On Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had said that the state is in the first stage of COVID-19.
09:34 IST: Up to 10 per cent of recovered coronavirus patients in Wuhan test positive again, report says
About 3 to 10 per cent of recovered coronavirus patients in China have tested positive again after being discharged from the hospital.
Doctors from Tongji hospital on the frontlines of the outbreak in Wuhan — where the virus emerged — told state broadcaster CCTV that they have found no evidence that these patients who again tested positive became infectious, based on close observations of their family members and laboratory tests. The Chinese mainland, where the disease first emerged last December, has discharged over 90 per cent of its infected patients and around 4,300 confirmed patients are still receiving treatment in hospitals.
The country has reported at least 81,000 cases and more than 3,200 deaths, but most of the new cases have been imported.
