Coronavirus in India live updates: Total number of cases in Delhi rises to 27

Leaves have been declared at educational institutes, movie halls have downed shutters temporarily and family functions are being postponed to ensure social distancing in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. However, thanks to the steady flow of patients, hospitals, specially the state-run ones, continue to remain crowded. This, doctors said, could pose a threat to the whole concept of social distancing to prevent transmission of the virus.

With panic buying reported from across Kolkata, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday assured citizens that there was no dearth of commodities in the market even though the borders were sealed. “Shops and markets will remain open. There is no need for panic buying,” the chief minister said.

Three hundred and forty-five passengers who flew into the city on Thursday from various countries in West Asia, Europe and America via the Gulf were whisked away to a quarantine centre in New Town, leaving family members battling conflicting emotions of relief and distress. While they were glad to see their loved ones back, they were also anxious about when the ordeal would finally be over, and they would actually reach home.

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday broached the idea of public-private handholding in healthcare to tide over the “extraordinary situation” arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Banerjee proposed the creation of a common pool of equipment and trained resources as she extracted assurances from leading private-sector hospitals to supplement the government healthcare sector’s efforts to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. A Medical Emergency Fund will be set up so that the private sector can sponsor expensive equipment, like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines, which are essential to clear Covid-19 patients’ lungs.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala urged people’s representatives in local bodies to set aside adifferences and take vital steps at local-level to prevent Kerala from entering the ‘community-transmission phase’, ‘which the state is likely to enter in a couple of weeks’ time’. In a joint video conference, addressing all the ward members of panchayats, municipalities and corporations on Thursday, the leaders said it was the prime responsibility of local administrations and people’s representatives to ensure that people are following restrictions and ban to keep the dreaded phase at bay.

To tide over the economic crisis faced by Kerala due to Covid-19 situation, the government declared a stimulus package worth Rs 20,000 crore, of which Rs 500 crore would be exclusively set aside for the health sector. Meanwhile, one more positive case was reported from Kasaragod on Thursday, taking the total number of infected persons to 25. This patient had returned from Dubai recently and was kept in isolation. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 31,173 persons were kept under observation, of which 237 are in designated isolation wards. Of the 2,921 samples sent for testing, 2,342 turned out to be negative.

The recognition of Shakti Shiksha Academy Sr Sec School, Jaipur, was cancelled on Thursday by the orders of directorate of education, Bikaner, for keeping the school open in violation of guidelines issued to check spread of Covid-19. In a surprise inspection on Thursday, Shakti Shiksha Academy School was found conducting examination as per schedule. School education minister Govind Singh Dotasra later tweeted that no school was allowed to function, so its recognition will be cancelled.

The state government on Thursday ordered a partial shutdown of its offices till March 31in view of the coronavirus threat looming large. Except for essential services, all other state government, semigovernment, autonomous bodies and corporations have been asked to allow 50% of the staff to work from home till the end of March. All school, college exams have been postponed till further orders. The government took the decision following a review meeting on coronavirus threat held by the chief minister on Thursday.

With thousands of people living in gated communities and apartment complexes, managements are putting in stringent measures to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak. From cancelling Sri Rama Navami celebrations to thermal screening of maids and drivers, they are leaving no stone unturned. At My Home Jewel, Miyapur, the management issued a circular about entry of visitors from outside. “If you or your family are visiting from any foreign country and arrive at my home jewel (sic), please reach out to management committee by sending email or calling help desk. You would be required to quarantine yourself for 14 days. Security might deny entry to several common locations in our premises,” read the letter by the management committee.

As tech companies graduate to a complete work from home scenario due to the coronavirus threat, Hyderabad, which has about over 5 lakh IT sector employees, is not only staring at an acute shortage of laptops and desktops for sale but for rentals as well. What’s more, some vendors are learnt to be demanding double the going rate for providing dongles to companies as well, according to IT industry sources. Sources in the IT sector pointed out that while there are hardly any new laptops and desktops or even rental ones available in the market, prices of the few pieces available for sale or rent have shot through the roof over the past week to 10 days.

With eight out of 11 Indonesians who arrived in Karimnagar testing positive for Covid-19, the district administration on Thursday began an exercise on a war-footing to conduct health check-ups for people at places the group visited. On Thursday, officials targeted to cover 10,000 houses. As many as 100 medical teams fanned out into all areas in the town to identify people with fever and, if necessary, they would be sent to Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad if they show any symptoms of coronavirus.

A 24-year-old student from Ongole in Prasaksam district tested positive for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) on Thursday, making it the second positive case in Andhra Pradesh. The youngster, who returned from London on March 15, has been admitted to an isolation ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ongole. His condition is said to be stable. The second positive case on Thursday was reported from the Government Hospital for Chest and Communicate Diseases in Visakhapatnam. The 65-year-old man from Alipuram had a travel history to Mecca-Madina and was admitted with symptoms on March 17. Andhra Medical College doctors have confirmed that his test reports are positive and that his condition was stable.

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus reached 16 in the state, even as authorities quarantined more than 2,000 people on Thursday. The three new cases include two people who returned from London, and one from Dubai. The man who returned from Dubai to his Secunderabad home on March 14, developed Covid-19 symptoms three days later.

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on Thursday evening asked all its over 1,000 schools across the country to close operations till March 31. All exams across classes have been called off as also the evaluation work. The KVS circular follows the decision of the CBSE to cancel their class X and XII exams. But faculty members assessing CBSE answer scripts are stuck at evaluation centres, some in localities and even towns away from their homes. Several teachers now put up in hotels will have to take trains back home at the risk of being infected.

The coronavirus is known to affect the lungs and cause pneumonia, but new evidence from China suggests some patients may develop digestive symptoms such as lack of appetite and diarrhea as the first signs of the infection. In a new study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, doctors from the Wuhan province of China wrote about 99 patients among a group of 204 (that 48.5% in the study) who came to hospital with digestive symptoms such as anorexia (lack of appetite), diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain. These symptoms came up days before the respiratory symptoms of Covid-19.

With CBSE and CISCE postponing their Class X and XII board exams, several entrance tests at the state and national level in the country scheduled in April are likely to take a hit. While the ministry of human resource development has already announced postponement of JEE (Mains), it may have an impact on JEE (Advanced) for admission to IITs too. In the state, MHT-CET is one of the major entrance exams scheduled in April. Post-graduate medical aspirants in the state have sought postponement of admissions across the country in a letter to the state as well as the Centre.