COVID-19 extended its footprint in India on Monday with the eastern state of Odisha reporting its first coronavirus patient and one new case each in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala, taking the total count to 114, Health Ministry officials said.
The Maharashtra government also reported four more patients of the infection, as concerns over the pandemic steered decisions across all sectors and states, including in politically volatile Madhya Pradesh.
The ministry did not immediately add the Maharashtra cases to its national count, covering 15 states and union territories.
The tally of 114 includes 17 foreigners. While two people died, 13 people were discharged after they recovered from the infection, which according to the WHO has infected 1,53,517 people in 135 countries and territories and claimed more than 5,700 lives.
With the four new patients, Odisha has a count of one, Kerala 23, Ladakh four and Jammu and Kashmir three, according to the ministry.
As many states virtually shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the contribution of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers in fighting the virus. He said there was a coordinated response to the outbreak, showing the strong spirit of the nation in such situations.
In a series of tweets with the hashtag ‘India Fights Corona’, Modi said the encouragement from people highlighting the steps being taken to combat the virus is boosting the morale of all the “remarkable people” at the forefront of the fight.
A Maharashtra government official said four patients were detected for the novel coronavirus infection, taking the state tally to 37.
Giving details of the Odisha case, an official in Bhubaneswar said a researcher who recently returned from Italy tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 33-year-old patient who reached Delhi from Italy on March 6 and travelled to Bhubaneswar by train on March 12 is being treated at the Capital Hospital in the Odisha capital.
“His condition is stable and he is not showing any other complications,” the state government’s chief spokesperson on coronavirus cases Subroto Bagchi told reporters.
The man consulted a doctor on March 13, complaining of fever and headache, and was admitted to the hospital’s isolation ward the next day.
As he travelled by train from Delhi to Bhubaneswar, the state government has launched a “contact tracing exercise”, Bagchi said.
His family members have been quarantined and kept under observation.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the future of the Congress-led Kamal Nath government hangs in balance, there was no floor test as was being speculated and the assembly was adjourned in view of the state government’s concerns over the coronavirus.
BJP MLAs demanded a floor test as directed by Governor Lalji Tandon — after 22 Congress MLAs of the Congress resigned from the party.
However, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Govind Singh raised the issue of the coronavirus threat and also mentioned the Central government’s advisory on the matter, prompting Speaker N P Prajapati to accept his plea and adjourn proceedings till March 26.
Courtesy: Press Trust Of India
