New Delhi: Novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 315 Saturday after more than 60 fresh cases were reported in various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry said.
“Total number of confirmed cases so far in the country as on 21 March including foreign nationals is 315,” the Health Ministry said late Saturday.
A total of 16,911 samples from 16,021 individuals have been tested for SARS-CoV2as as on March 21, 6 PM, the Indian Council of Medical Research said in a statement.
“A total of 315 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases,” the ICMR said.
The figure of 315 includes 39 foreign nationals, including 17 from Italy, three from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each from Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.
It also includes four deaths — reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra.
The data includes 63 cases in Maharashtra (three foreigners), followed by Kerala at 40, including seven foreign nationals.
Delhi has reported 27 positive cases, which include one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 24 cases, including one foreigner. Telangana has reported 21 cases, including 11 foreigners.
Rajasthan has reported 17 cases, including two foreigners. In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners.
Karnataka has 15 coronavirus patients. Punjab and Ladakh have 13 cases each. Gujarat has seven cases while Jammu and Kashmir has four.
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have reported three cases each. Odisha has two cases. Puducherry, Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh have reported one case each. (PTI)
‘Janata curfew’ today
New Delhi: The country will be observing an unprecedented shutdown on Sunday following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for a ‘Janata curfew’, where people have been urged to voluntarily stay indoors to check the spread of novel coronavirus while public transport will be suspended or curtailed and all markets and shops except those dealing in essential items will be closed on the day.
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that “social distancing” was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 315 on Saturday, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
From suspending regular prayers involving large gatherings in shrines of various faiths, including Sunday mass, to disallowing jail inmates from meeting their families on the day, organisations and institutions in every sphere have announced restrictions for Sunday. Modi had on Thursday called for the ‘Janata curfew’ from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22.
Health Ministry revises strategy
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Saturday, issued a revised strategy of testing for COVID-19 infection.
According to the revised advisory, all asymptomatic individuals who have undertaken international travel in the last 14 days, should stay in home quarantine for at least 14 days.
They should be tested only if they become symptomatic (fever, cough, difficulty in breathing). Besides, all family members living with a confirmed case should be home quarantined.
The revised strategy further stated that all symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases will be tested, all symptomatic health care workers will also be tested. All hospitalised patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (fever and cough and/or shortness of breath) will also be tested for novel coronavirus.
“Asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case should be tested once between day 5 and day 14 of coming in his or her contact,” said the Ministry.
Direct and high-risk contact include those who live in the same household with a confirmed case and healthcare workers who examined a confirmed case without adequate protection as per WHO recommendations.
Currently, India has witnessed cases of COVID-19 mostly related to travel and local transmission from imported cases to their immediate contacts. Community transmission of the disease has not been documented till now.
Once community transmission is documented, the above testing strategy will undergo changes to evolve into stage appropriate testing strategy. (Agencies)