Coronavirus outbreak: PM chairs high-level meet, to address nation today at 8pm

Intercontinental Exchange Inc said on Wednesday that the New York Stock Exchange will temporarily move to fully electronic trading beginning March 23, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Two more people have died from the new coronavirus in Brazil, the Sao Paulo state health authority said on Wednesday, bringing confirmed deaths from the infectious disease in the country to three. The two people were 65 and 80 years old, the Sao Paulo Health Secretariat said.

Pakistan on Wednesday reported its first two casualties due to the deadly coronavirus that has infected 301 people across the country. "Sad to report one patient who passed away in Mardan," Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health minister Taimur Khan Jhagra tweeted late Wednesday night. Within two hours after the tweet, Jhagra again announced that a second coronavirus death was also reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The minister tweeted that the patient, a 36-year old person from Hangu district, died in a hospital in Peshawar.

Iran on Wednesday reported its single biggest jump in fatalities from the coronavirus as another 147 people died, raising the country's overall death toll to 1,135. The nearly 15% spike in deaths amid a total of 17,361 confirmed cases in Iran marks the biggest 24-hour rise in fatalities since Iranian officials first acknowledged infections of the virus in mid-February. Even as the number of cases grows, food markets were still packed with shoppers and highways were crowded as families traveled ahead of the Persian New Year, Nowruz, on Friday. Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi urged the public to avoid travel and crowds, telling Iranians the days ahead represented two "golden weeks" to try curb the virus.

"No airline will bring any passenger from Australia, Belgium, Bulgeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom effective 12 GMT March 12 at Port of departure," a home ministry spokesperson said

The historic Sabarmati Ashram will remain closed for visitors from March 19 till March 29 in view of the coronavirus threat, the trust managing the complex said on Wednesday. The ashram, a former home of Mahatma Gandhi, receives a large number of visitors everyday.

As a precautionary measure, the evacuated persons are to be kept under quarantine for a period of 14 days. ENC is coordinating with the Health Officials from State and District Administration to ensure adequate preventive care is provided to all evacuated personnel and to prevent the spread of the virus. The Quarantine Camp is fully equipped to accommodate nearly 200 personnel with all suitable facilities and other arrangements.

The World Health Organization urged Middle Eastern governments Wednesday to be more forthcoming with information about new coronavirus infections in order to effectively combat the global pandemic. "We can only control this disease if we have access to information that allows us to understand its dynamic in the region" Ahmed al-Mandhari, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean director, told an online press conference from Cairo.