The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 107 on Sunday, with Maharashtra reporting the highest followed by Kerala, while over 450 stranded Indians were flown back from Italy and Iran, the two worst affected countries after China, and quarantined.
Extending the border restrictions in view of the Coronavirusoutbreak, the government has suspended travel and registration of pilgrims toKartarpur Sahib Gurudwara through the corridor from Sunday midnight, besidesmovement of all types of passengers to Pakistan through international borderpoints.
Earlier, the government had announced suspension of alltypes of passenger movement from 00:00 hours on March 15 through theIndo-Bangla, Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan and Indo-Myanmar borders barring a fewspecified border checkposts.
According to Union Health Ministry, there are 107 cases inIndia so far including the two persons who died in Delhi and Karnataka and 17foreigners.
Twelve more people have tested positive in Maharashtra, takingthe number of cases to 31, it said. But state Health Minister Rajesh Tope saidthere were 32 cases.
Delhi has so far reported seven positive cases, Kerala 22and Uttar Pradesh 11. Karnataka has six coronavirus patients while Ladakh threeand Jammu and Kashmir had two. Telangana reported three cases. Rajasthan alsoreported two cases. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported onecase each.
In Kerala, 20 Dubai-bound passengers were detained at theKochi airport after a UK national, who was under surveillance but sneaked outand joined the group, tested positive for novel coronavirus, official sourcessaid.
Earlier, the over 280 passengers of the Dubai-bound Emiratesflight, which the group had taken, were offloaded at the airport. The flight leftfor Dubai in the afternoon after the 20 passengers were detained.
The UK national has been taken to an isolation facility at anearby government hospital, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesmansaid.
Kerala has launched an intensified medical check up ininter-state border areas for people entering the state by rail and road.
As many as 302 people are in isolation wards of varioushospitals across the state.
The Mumbai Police on Sunday clamped prohibitory orders undersection 144 of the CrPC to stop tour operators from conducting any kind ofgroup tours to foreign or domestic destinations till March 31.
Maharashtra has already invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act,1897 that gives wide-ranging powers to officials to enforce measures, includingthat of lockdown and quarantine, required to tackle an outbreak.
Shopping malls, schools and colleges have been closed in thestate till March 31.
Elections to rural and urban local bodies in Andhra Pradeshhave been put off for six weeks by the State Election Commission in view ofspread of coronavirus, according to State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar.They were originally scheduled for March 21.
More states ordered closure of schools and public placeslike cinema halls and malls where people gather in large numbers.
The Tamil Nadu government directed closure of allkindergarten and primary schools till March 31.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami also issued orders for closureof cinema halls and malls till the month end in 16 districts bordering Keralaand Karnataka, where the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise, an officialrelease said.
The Assam government too ordered shutting down ofeducational institutions, gymnasiums, swimming pools and cinema halls withimmediate effect till March 29 in the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak.
Uttarakhand government has declared novel coronavirus anepidemic and shut all multiplexes, cinema halls, degree colleges and technicalinstitutes across the state till March 31, official sources said.
However, the central government has asked people not topanic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed andthere has only been a few cases of local transmission so far and that it is”not a health emergency” in India at present.
Meanwhile, the government continued to evacuate Indiansstranded in coronavirus-hit Iran and Italy.
A total of 218 Indians, mostly students, from Milan landedat around 9.45 AM at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhiand were taken to an ITBP quarantine facility in south-west Delhi’s Chhawlaarea.
More than 230 Indians brought back from Iran reached NewDelhi at about 3:15 AM and were quarantined at the Indian Army Wellness Centrein Jaisalmer, the third batch to be evacuated from that country.
They had arrived in Delhi on a Mahan Air flight from Tehranand were ferried by two Air India flights to Jaisalmer, IGI airport officialssaid.
The first batch of 58 Indian pilgrims were brought back fromIran on Tuesday and the second group of 44 Indian pilgrims had arrived fromthere on Friday.
Italy is the second most affected country after China withover 1,400 deaths and 21,000 cases of coronavirus. It is followed by Iran whereover 700 people have died and nearly 14,000 cases have been detected.
Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said allparamilitary forces, including the CRPF, the ITBP, and the BSF, have beenadvised to keep ready quarantine camps for COVID-19 suspects as a preparatorymeasure.
With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring COVID-19a pandemic, a health ministry official said over 4,000 people who had come incontact with 93 positive cases have been identified through contact tracing andwere being tracked while 42,000 people across the country are under communitysurveillance.
He said all essential facilities like communitysurveillance, quarantine, isolation wards, adequate personal protectiveequipment (PPEs), trained manpower, rapid response teams are being strengthenedfurther in all states and union territories.
An order has been placed for the procurement of anadditional over 80,50,000 N95 masks and personal protective equipment forhealthcare workers, the health ministry said.
It also clarified the 71-year-old man from Maharashtra’sBuldhana who admitted to a private hospital and died during treatment onSaturday has tested negative for coronavirus infection. He had returned fromSaudi Arabia recently and had diabetes and high blood pressure.
The government had on Wednesday suspended all visas, barringa few categories like diplomatic and employment, in an attempt to prevent thespread of coronavirus.
India-Bangladesh passenger train services between Kolkataand cities in the neighbouring country were also suspended from Sunday as aprecaution against the spread of COVID-19.
The Eastern Railway said services of Maitree and BandhanExpress trains will remain suspended from March 15 to April 15 or till furtherorders, whichever is earlier.