Coronavirus update: India's tally now at 45

Two more cases of novel coronavirus — SARS-COV 2 or COVID-19 — were confirmed positive in India March 9, 2020 evening: One in Bengaluru and the other in Amritsar. With them, Punjab and Karnataka debuted on the map of the virus’ footprint. 

The Bengaluru resident returned to the Karnataka captital on March 1 from a trip to Austin and New York in the United States and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Amritsar resident had been to Italy.

The two took India's infection tally to 45. 

Earlier in the day, four more cases were reported: One each from New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala.

In Kerala, a three-year-old boy was confirmed positive for COVID-19 case. The child and his parents arrived at Nedumbassery (Kochi) airport on March 7 from Italy, said state health minister KK Shailaja.

At the airport’s thermal screening counter, the boy was detected with high fever. He and his parents were isolated. While the child tested positive, result of the parents’ samples are awaited. The child has been kept in an isolation ward at Ernakulam Medical College and Hospital, Kochi.

Italy is the third-most affected country after China and South Korea. The patient detected positive in Delhi also has a travel history to Italy.

UP and J&K reported their first cases. The infected person from J&K travelled from Iran. In UP, the patient detected COVID-19-positive was traced, following a contact tracing exercise that included six Delhi residents who were declared positive on March 4. One of them had gone to Agra. 

Karnataka is hunting for a man who returned from Dubai and skipped the coronavirus test. The police were informed about the passenger's disappearance. A surveillance team is currently at his home with the police.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare did not comment on the Kerala case. Five more positive cases were reported from Kerala on March 8, 2020. In February, COVID-19 infected three people in the state, all of whom are now free of the virus.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Monday said the government was prepared to deal with novel coronavirus and his ministry was sending directives, including guidelines, to states in all the languages on ways to contain it.

Qatar to stop Indians

Qatar banned the entry of nationals of 14 countries, including India. Kuwait too banned Indian flights from entering its airspace because of the outbreak. India had earlier banned the entry of nationals from China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.

Cases spike sharply across Europe

Coronavirus cases spiked sharply across Europe on March 9, 2020. Five more cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Northern Ireland. A worker at the Israeli embassy in Athens, along with two family members have been diagonosed. The worker was on the same flight as Greek tourists who visited Israel and the West Bank and were later found to have contracted the virus. The embassy has been closed for disinfection.

Italy coronavirus toll soars as north sealed off

In Italy, where some 16 million people in Lombardy and other parts of the north are now under quarantine, there were 133 deaths reported on March 8, bringing the total to 366. More than 7,000 people in the country have been confirmed to have the virus.

Germany tops 1,000 cases

Germany has recorded more than 1,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, becoming the third country in Europe to reach the mark after Italy and France. Germany announced measures to boost its sputtering economy in the face of the fast-spreading COVID-19 on March 9, while also calling for the cancellation of large events.

COVID-19 in Vietnam

In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam has imposed several travel restrictions on those entering the country. As of March 8, Vietnam had confirmed 30 cases of the coronavirus, though 16 of the patients had recovered

South Korea introduces three-layered airport fever check

Health officials in South Korea rolled out a three-step process to check the temperature of people departing from the country's largest airport in response to widening entry restrictions on South Korean citizens by other countries.

More coronavirus cases confirmed in Japan

Data compiled by local governments show that the number of coronavirus infections in Japan has increased to 485 as of 1:00 pm on March 9, 2020, after five more cases were reported earlier in the day.

Tourist arrivals in Thailand plummet 44.3% in February due to coronavirus

The number of tourist arrivals in Thailand fell 44.3% in February from a year earlier, due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said on March 9, 2020.

Coronavirus toll in Iran rises to 237

The toll in Iran, one of the countries worst-hit by the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, rose to 237 on March 9, AFP reported. The country announced 43 new deaths on March 9.

Another patient identified in Karachi, taking the total number of positive cases in Pakistan to seven

A 50-year-old man has been tested positive for the deadly coronavirus in Pakistan, taking the total number of the COVID-19 infections in the country to seven

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