Coronavirus cases rise to six, forcing Centre, state govts to step up efforts; visa curbs extended to four more nations

Two schools shut in Noida amid coronavirus scare

Two private schools in Noida shut on Tuesday till 6 and 9 March, respectively, and several people, including family members of a Delhi man who tested positive for the virus, were quarantined or kept in isolation.

Condition of virus-hit techie has improved: Telangana govt

The condition of a 24-year-old Bengaluru-based techie, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Hyderabad, is stable and the process of tracking people he came in contact with was on, Telangana health minister E Rajender said on Tuesday."The health condition of the man, who works in Bengaluru as a software professional, has, in fact, shown improvement since Monday," he said. Admitted to an isolation ward in the state-run Gandhi hospital, the man is found to have come in contact with 88 people. Rajender said of these, 45 had been brought to the hospital and their test results are awaited.The minister spoke to reporters after a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee where measures to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus following detection of the positive case were discussed. The meeting was attended by other members of the cabinet sub-committee, state municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao and panchayati raj minister E Dayakar Rao, along with senior officials.Rajender also said the state government has set up isolation wards in five government hospitals and has identified altogether 3,000 beds, including 2,000 in different private medical colleges. The minister said he spoke to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Central officials and sought supply of masks which was accepted.Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu convened a meeting of top officials of his department in Bengaluru following information that the techie had travelled from the city. A Karnataka health department official said all the passengers of the bus he had travelled in and his colleagues have been contacted and were under house-quarantine.Passengers who were with him on the flight from Dubai were also being contacted, even as people who worked with the techie have been asked to work from home. The software engineer had been to Dubai last month on an official visit, where he is suspected to have contracted the virus.He then travelled to Hyderabad after staying in Bengaluru for a couple of days. He had developed fever thereafter, contacted doctors there and tested postive for the infection, Sriramulu said.A total of 23 people who travelled with him and his roommates have been screened and tests are being conducted as a precautionary measure, sources said.

Narendra Modi holds review meeting

Delhi govt sets up facilities at 25 hospitals

The AAP government said Tuesday it is taking all steps to contain the spread of the virus and earmarked 230 beds in isolation wards being set up at 25 hospitals, as several city schools sent advisories to parents listing precautionary measures.Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal held an emergency meeting with state health minister Satyendar Jain and other top officials and took stock of government preparations to contain the virus. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government was trying to get in touch with people who could be infected or were in contact with the man infected with the virus.The Delhi health minister said 3.5 lakh N95 masks were being arranged and the government has 8,000 separation kits for staff treating coronavirus patients. "COVID-19 is a new infection, but there is no need to panic," Jain told reporters after the meeting, flanked by Sisodia."We are taking all possible steps to keep Delhi safe. Isolation wards are being readied in 25 hospitals, including 19 government and six private hospitals. 230 beds have been earmarked for coronavirus patients," he said.

More from India

Navy postpones multilateral naval exercise in Milan

The Indian Navy on Tuesday postponed a multi-nation mega naval exercise 'Milan 2020' which was scheduled to be held off the coast of Visakhapatnam as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus infection. The Milan naval exercise was scheduled to be held between 18 and 28 March and over 40 countries were expected to participate in the exercise.The exercise has been postponed taking into consideration the "safety of all participants and travel restrictions imposed due to the spread of COVID-19", officials said.The Milan 2020 had generated a very enthusiastic response, with navies around the world having expressed desire to participate, they said, adding the Indian Navy looks forward to schedule the exercise at a later convenient date.

Health ministry issues travel advisory

The Union Health Ministry said that while visa restrictions on Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan, besides China, will continue, it exempted diplomats, officials of UN and other International bodies, OCI cardholders and aircrew from it on entry. However, their medical screening is compulsory, it said."Passengers of all international flights entering into India from any port are required to furnish duly filled self-declaration form (including personal particulars, ie, phone number and address in India) and travel history, to health officials and immigration officials at all ports."Passengers (foreign and Indian) other than those restricted, arriving directly or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan must undergo medical screening at port of entry," it said.The ministry said that all previous advisories stand superseded in view of the fresh instructions.It asked all Indian citizens to refrain from travel to China, Iran, South Korea, Italy and asked them to avoid non-essential travel to other COVID-19 affected countries.The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. All the three have recovered.

DGCA instructs airlines to provide protective gear to passengers, staff

The DGCA on Tuesday asked airlines and airports to take specific measures such as providing protective gears like surgical masks and gloves to crew members and passengers and having multiple hand sanitising points in terminals.The aviation regulator stated that airports and airlines must ensure that each aircraft arriving from South Korea, Japan and Italy is subjected to disinfection process before the boarding begins for the next flight on the plane."All ground handling staff entering inbound and outbound international flights shall be provided with personnel protective equipments (PPEs) and such PPEs shall be disposed of in an appropriate manner after each flight," the DGCA circular said.PPEs stand for protective gears like surgical masks, gloves, disposable shoe covers, it said.With inputs from agencies