Coronavirus: Virus outbreak will slash global investment flows, says UN

“The Italian man has no fever now and his condition is constantly improving. His blood count has become normal with decreased pneumonia symptoms, requiring much less oxygen (support),” Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said

Taking a serious view of three fresh coronavirus patients not disclosing their Italy visit, the Kerala government on Sunday warned of strict action, including prosecution, against those hiding such travel to affected countries and symptoms of the infection. The Health department said failure to inform authorities about travel history and symptoms would be considered a crime, while the state police separately said it was "illegal and punishable" if anyone hid such information.

Delhi government has ordered DTC and cluster buses, metro and hospitals to be disinfected on a regular basis as a precautionary measure to deal with the novel coronavirus, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday. The chief minister said that 168 isolation beds have been set up at 25 hospitals for coronavirus patients.

The 10th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) has been postponed until further notice in view of the coronavirus epidemic, the festival's organising committee announced on Sunday. The movie gala was scheduled to take place between April 19-26.

A cruise ship with a Panama flag has been turned back at the New Mangalore Port here following the Centre's advisory in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said. The vessel 'MSC Lirica' was sent back on Saturday as the Union Ministry of Shipping had directed all ports not to allow any cruise ship from foreign destinations to call on Indian ports.

A 76-year-old Hong Kong woman became the third coronavirus patient who died in the Chinese-ruled city, the Hospital Authority said on Sunday. The female patient had developed fever, shortness of breath, cough and abdominal pain on Feb. 28 and was admitted to hospital the same day.

Pope Francis expressed solidarity Sunday with the victims of the novel coronavirus in his first livestreamed prayer and message from the Vatican. "I am close through prayer with the people who suffer from the current coronavirus epidemic," the 83-year-old pope said in a message recorded at the Vatican library and aired live on a screen on Saint Peter's Square before a small crowd.

Over 15 million people across a vast swathe of northern Italy woke on Sunday to find themselves cut off from the rest of the country, after the government imposed a virtual lockdown to prevent the coronavirus spreading. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed off on plans that strictly limit movement in and out of the north, including Venice and the financial capital Milan, for nearly a month.

The affected people are aged between 20 and 35 and two of them returned from Italy recently, IEDCR Director Meerjady Sabrina told reporters.

Ten people were killed after a hotel used as a quarantine facility amid the coronavirus outbreak collapsed in south east China's Fujian province, official media reported on Sunday. The hotel was used to quarantine and observe people who had come to the province during the novel coronavirus prevention and control and had come in contact with the virus patients.

Iran's health ministry said on Sunday that total coronavirus cases have risen to 6,566, while the death toll has reached 194, according to state television

Indonesia confirmed on Sunday that two more people had tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the total of confirmed cases in the country to six. One of the Indonesians is a 36-year-old male, a crew member on the Japan-docked Diamond Princess cruise ship where he contracted the virus, a Health Ministry official told a news briefing. The other Indonesian, a 55-year-old male, contracted the virus locally in Jakarta, he said.

Saudi Arabia's authorities recorded four news cases of the coronavirus, taking the total of infections to 11, the kingdom's health ministry said on Twitter on Sunday. Riyadh restricted land crossings with neighbouring countries on Saturday to commercial trucks only, adding that passenger arrivals will be limited to three airports in the country.

"With attention to the restrictions that have been placed on (IranAir) flights by Europe for unclear reasons all IranAir flights to European destinations have been suspended until further notice," Irna reported, citing a statement from the Civil Aviation Organization.

Qatar Airways on Sunday said it is working closely with Indian health authorities after some people who had travelled on one of its flights to Kochi tested positive for coronavirus infection. The three had taken a Qatar Airways flight (QR 126) from Venice to Doha and took a flight (QR 154) from Doha to Kochi. They arrived in Kochi on March 1.

The mayor of the South Korean city of Daegu expressed cautious hope on Sunday that the numbers of new cases may be dropping, after the rate of increase slowed to its lowest in 10 days. The city accounts for as much as 75% of all of South Korea's confirmed cases.

NIV, being a pivotal institute, is hand-holding associate labs in the country by providing all the support and guidance. "Every day there is a video conferencing with the associate testing lab centres where the issues are discussed and solutions for the problems are found," said Raman R Gangakhedkar, head of the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases-I (ECD-I), Division of ICMR. Read full story.