Coronavirus: 4 New Cases, Overall Number Rises to 43

New Delhi: Three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country, taking the number of cases to 43, Union Health Ministry officials said on Monday.

One new case each has been reported from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said, adding that no deaths have been reported yet.

The Health Ministry has now confirmed the case of a three-year-child in Kerala. Officials in Kochi had said on Monday that the child, who had returned from Italy with its parents, has tested positive for the disease.

Meanwhile, a 63-year-old woman tested positive for coronavirus in Jammu making her the first confirmed case in J&K, officials said on Monday.

The woman, who had a travel history to Iran, was among two patients who were declared "high viral load cases" by the administration on the weekend.

They are undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu and are in a stable condition, the officials said.

"The test report of the woman patient is positive, while the report of the other patient is still awaited," a Health Department official said.

Another woman, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, was admitted in GMC hospital Doda on Sunday and was kept under observation in an isolation ward, the officials said.

Her samples were sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for testing, they added.

After the two patients were declared "high load viral cases" on Saturday, the J&K administration announced immediate closure of all primary schools in six districts of the Union Territory and suspension of all biometric attendance till March 31 as a precautionary measure.

Jammu and Kashmir administration Spokesperson Rohit Kansal said they are watching the situation and have put 400 people under surveillance in Satawari and Sarwal areas of Jammu.

He said Anganwadi centres in these areas have also been closed till March 31.

Officials said the first coronavirus testing lab has been set up at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, after necessary training was imparted to the staff. Two more testing labs, one each in GMC Jammu and Srinagar, are likely to start functioning from Wednesday.

In Kerala, five more people tested positive on Sunday, including a couple and their son who had flown from Italy and evaded airport screening, prompting state authorities to warn of action against those hiding travel history, while other states too introduced stricter measures to check the spread of the disease.

As the Centre denied entry to cruise ships till March 31 in the wake of the coronavirus scare, a cruise ship with a Panama flag 'MSC Lirica' was turned back at the New Mangalore Port on Saturday.

After Sikkim, the Arunachal Pradesh government has also decided to temporarily suspend issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners to check the spread of coronavirus.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government will request the Centre to impose a ban on travelling to countries that have recorded a large number of coronavirus cases.

In Assam, at least 400 people have been quarantined after they came in contact with an American tourist who tested positive for the new coronavirus in Bhutan after travelling through the state recently, state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said the state has been put on high alert in the wake of the five new cases, reported more than a fortnight after India's first three coronavirus patients -medical students from Wuhan- were discharged from hospitals in the state.

The new cases are from Ranni in Pathnamthitta district, where all public programmes and religious gatherings have been called off.

The minister said all the passengers who travelled with the infected family in the Venice-Doha Qatar airlines QR 126 flight on February 29 and Qatar Airlines flight QR514 from Doha to Kochi that arrived at 8.20 am on March 1 should get in touch with health authorities.

The airlines, in a statement, said it was working with Indian health authorities in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has asked the AIIMS administration in Delhi to designate a part of the new emergency wing for setting up of isolation beds for suspected COVID-19 patients.

Six other AIIMS have been directed to keep an isolation bed capacity between 12-15 for coronavirus patients, which can be scaled up to 30 if need arises, an official said.

Besides, the ministry has asked the National Cancer Institute in Jhajjar and Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry to keep such beds.

Qatar Bans Entry of People from India, 13 countries

Qatar has temporarily banned entry of people coming from India and 13 other countries in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

The temporary ban would also be applicable on people coming from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand.

"This decision comes as a preventive measure due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide," Qatar government said in a statement dated March 8.

Flagship carrier Qatar Airways has also stopped flights from India, sources said.

Qatar Airways operates 102 weekly flights from Doha to 13 Indian cities, including New Delhi.

According to the statement, the temporary suspension of entry would affect all individuals intending to enter from these countries, including visas upon arrival, those with residence or work permit, and temporary visitors.

Earlier, Qatar Airways announced temporary suspension of flights to and from Italy, one of the countries worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Other airlines that fly to Qatar, include IndiGo, GoAir and Air India.

There was no immediate statement from the three airlines about the status of their flights.

Meanwhile, Kuwait on Saturday had suspended operations of all flights to and from India and six other countries in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.