Coronavirus India: The 23-year-old Manipur patient has been put under isolation.
Manipur has reported its first case of coronavirus with a 23-year-old woman who returned from the United Kingdom testing positive, making it the first case in the northeast. She is a student in the UK and had flown to Delhi on March 19 and then to Kolkata and Agartala before reaching Manipur. Nearly all of India - with 32 states and union territories covering 560 districts - are under a complete lockdown to contain the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. 496 people have tested positive for the virus in the country and nine have died. As reports of infection came in from all the key states, the centre on Monday tightened its clampdown with a ban on domestic flights from tonight and warned of legal action against those violating the lockdown rules. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation today at 8 pm, his second address since last Thursday when he called for a "Janata Curfew" or self-quarantine on Sunday.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus in India:
The Manipur patient has been put under isolation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in capital Imphal. Her brother and the rest of her family members too have been quarantined. The family is being tested for coronavirus. Authorities are also tracing others who may have come in contact with the woman. The Manipur government has alerted the centre as well as the Delhi, West Bengal and Tripura governments, state government sources said.
While the entire northeast is in lockdown mode, the states in the region are especially concerned about migrant workers who are headed back home from Maharashtra and Kerala that have reported a large number of coronavirus or COVID-19 cases.
Punjab, which had thousands of expats heading for home, declared curfew on Monday. So did Maharashtra, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases. In Kolkata, sources said the 57-year-old who died at a private hospital, did not have any travel history, raising concern about the chain of transmission of the virus.
The Rajya Sabha election scheduled for Thursday has been deferred due to the coronavirus crisis. The Election Commission will review the situation after March 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday tweeted: "Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to ensure rules and laws are followed." The state governments have been asked to take legal action against those found violating lockdown orders.
The government - which earlier shut down international flights, passenger trains and interstate buses - on Monday banned domestic flights. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 11.59 pm today, the government said. Only cargo flights will be allowed. Passenger train metro and inter-state bus services have also been stopped in an effort to enforce social distancing, which, scientists say is the only way to stop the virus.
As part of its move to contain the spread of misinformation on social media, the government has warned that no person, institution or organisation, will use print, electronic or social media, for dissemination of any information without ascertaining the facts.
In Delhi, which was among the first to announce a lockdown on Sundya, the police has made curfew passes mandatory for those travelling between Delhi and its neighbouring areas.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned indefinitely on Monday, two weeks ahead of schedule, because of the coronavirus threat. The government introduced two bills even as some Opposition members, including those from the Congress, wanted to know when the government would announce a financial package for sectors affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The country's premier medical institute, Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, decided to shut down its OPD, including specialty services, all new and follow up patients' registration, indefinitely from March 24. Last week, the hospital had postponed all non-essential medical procedures and surgeries.
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