COVID-19 Cases in India Soar to 147, Maharashtra Tops the List with 42 'Tested Positive'

COVID-19

New Delhi, March 18, 2020:

India's novel coronavirus or COVID-19 cases have soared to 147 on Wednesday, out of which 122 are Indians and 25 are foreign nationals or tourists.

According to a Union Health Ministry data, Maharashtra has topped with more than 40 confirmed cases of COVID-19, followed by Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

The Health Ministry further added that more than 5,700, who had come in contact with the 147 positive cases, are under surveillance.

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Kolkata recorded its first coronavirus case on Tuesday. An eighteeen-year-old man, who recently returned from England, tested positive for the virus, a health department official said. Medical examinations revealed that the person had contracted the virus, officials said. He has been kept in isolation.

"As on today total 74,978 travellers/persons have been screened at Kolkata and Bagdogra Airports and 280,362 persons have been screened at seven Land Border Check Points along Nepal and Bangladesh. Also 3,989 crew members of ships have been screened in three ports. Till date 12,244 travellers from COVID-19 affected countries have been identified and placed under surveillance," an official release from West Bengal's health department said.

"For 248 of them the surveillance period has been over. Eighteen are admitted in isolation facility on date. Rest 11978 are under home surveillance. Till date 70 samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune, ICMR-NICED, Kolkata and IPGMER, Kolkata for test of COVID-19. Results of 69 samples are negative. One sample has come positive," it said.

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Pune reported another positive case of COVID-19. A woman with a travel history to France and the Netherlands has tested positive, taking the cases of the city to 18 and that of Maharashtra to 42 on Wednesday.

In Leh, a 34-year-old Jawan of the Indian Army in Leh tested positive for COVID-19, making it the first case in the armed forces. According to reports, he contracted it from his father, who had recently returned from Iran.

On Tuesday, COVID-19 claimed its first victim in Mumbai, prompting the state government to ramp up pracautionary measures and take support from private hospitals and laboratories. A 63-year-old man, who had travelled to Dubai with his wife and son, died at Kasturba Hospital in the city due to complications arising from the novel coronavirus infection.

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198,728 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus globally, out of which, 107,960 are currently active or currently infected cases and 6,415 are in critical condition. 7,989 people have died so far according to https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Coronavirus cases have been rising across the world every single day. It has spread to all the US states. Meanwhile, China, the original epicenter of the crisis on Wednesday reported only 13 new cases of the virus. Twelve of those cases were recorded in individuals who recently returned from abroad. The country is clamping down on international arrivals and mandating strict quarantines to prevent infections.

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Edited By: Admin

Published On: Mar 18, 2020