Coronavirus LIVE: Indian Army defers postings and transfers of personnel; 223 positive cases in India

As per new Army advisory, postings and transfers of personnel has been deferred. Temporary duty of all ranks rescheduled/cancelled till 15th April 2020. Leave of personnel already on leave to be extended till 15th April 2020 at the discretion of competent authority.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: State govt will fully support the 'Janata Curfew' called by Prime Minister on March 22. State Transport Corporation buses & public transports will be kept off roads. Metro will also not operate on that day. People should stay at home.

Two positive Coronavirus cases have been confirmed from Kangra district: Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur.

All bars/pubs to remain closed from tomorrow till 31st March in Karnataka. In all city municipal corporations across the state, restuarants including cafes cannot serve food in-house, only takeaways will be allowed: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa

Ritu Maheshwari, Noida Authority CEO: Noida metro and city bus services to be suspended on March 22, Sunday.

12 more persons have tested positive for in Kerala- 5 in Ernakulam, 6 in Kasaragod and 1 in Palakkad. There are total 40 Coronavirus positive cases in the state: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Vasundhara Raje, son Dushyant in self quarantine, after dinner with kanika Kapoor

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta declares 2-week emergency over Coronavirus outbreak; public entertainment to halt from Monday, public transport limited reports regional media.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh self-isolates himself; he was in the party that was also attended by singer Kanika Kapoor who has tested positive for Coronavirus

There are two more positive cases of COVID-19 in Gujarat. Total cases till now seven. District-wise breakup: Ahmedabad: 3, Vadodara: 2, Surat: 1, Rajkot: 1, reported News18

Govt mulls allowing late repayments of loans, other liabilities for MSME sector amid coronavirus outbreak

Total number of cancelled trains due to novel coronavirus pandemic climbs to 245, Indian Railways cancels 90 more trains till March 31

Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to sanitize Lucknow, Noida and Kanpur as precautionary measure against Coronavirus.

Shops have been closed in Nagpur after CM Uddhav Thackeray announced that all shops (other than essentials) and offices in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur to remain closed till March 31.

APPEAL: Please follow ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines on quarantines - All asymptomatic people who have undertaken international travel and all contacts of laboratory confirmed positive cases should stay in home quarantine for 14 days.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien self-quarantined himself after BJP MP Dushyant Singh, who sat beside him in Parliament, revealed that he he attended a party by singer Kanika Kapoor, who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Singh and his mother, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, have gone into self-quarantine after attending Kapoor's party in Lucknow, Raje tweeted on Friday.

Kapoor has become the first Bollywood celebrity to test positive for coronavirus in the country and says she's under complete quarantine and medical care.

There were reports that the singer landed in Lucknow from the United Kingdom and was admitted in a city hospital after she showed signs of flu.

"This Govt is putting us all at risk. The PM says self isolate yourself but the Parliament is on. I was sitting next to Dushyant the other day for 2.5 hours. There are two more MPs who are in self isolation. The session should be deferred," the TMC MP had said earlier when the news of Singh broke.

The total number of positive cases of COVID19 in India now stands at 223 (including 32 foreigners), 4 deaths (1 each) in Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday deferred the personality tests (interviews) of the candidates of civil services examination 2019 as a precautionary measure to check the spread of coronavirus, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

"New dates for the personality tests (interviews) will be informed to the candidates in due course," it said.

Due to the prevailing conditions caused by COVID–19, as a precautionary measure, the Union Public Service Commission has deferred the personality tests of the candidates of the civil services (main) examination 2019 scheduled from March 23, 2020 to April 3, 2020 until further orders, the statement said.

The commission conducts civil services examination annually in three stages -- prelims, main and interview (personality test) -- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The Health Ministry on Friday said that 206 coronavirus positive cases have been reported in India so far and more than 6,700 people who have come in contact with them are under surveillance.

Joint Secretary of the Health Ministry Luv Aggarwal emphasised that social distancing is primary to fight COVID-19.

He urged people to use the toll free number 1075 for any query and said that the government is working on preventive approach.

"The prime minister has called for Janta curfew. One day's cooperation will help break the chain of transmission," Aggarwal said.

He also said that there was no shortage of essential commodities to fight coronavirus.

Aggarwal said the Italian man who died in Jaipur on Friday will not be counted among those dead in India due to coronavirus and maintained that the death toll in the country is four.

Central teams have been sent to states for hand-holding them in strengthening their capacities in tackling coronavirus, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently holding a video conferencing with chief ministers on coronavirus.

With two more persons testing positive for the COVID-19 infection in Ladakh on Friday, the total number of novel coronavirus patients has risen to 10 in the Union Territory.

Rigzin Samphel, Secretary/Commissioner Ladakh affairs said on Friday that two more persons from the Union Territory have tested positive for the coronavirus taking the number of infected patients in the region to 10.

It is important to mention that both these patients did not have any foreign travel history.

One of the 10 infected patients in Ladakh is an army soldier belonging to the Ladakh scouts regiment.

In Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, the number of infected patients is four, one belonging to the valley and three to the Jammu region.

Over 90 students who arrived here yesterday and today from Bangladesh have been put into quarantine at different makeshift facilities in Srinagar city.

The Delhi Metro services will be closed on Sunday in view of the 'Janata curfew', officials said.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Thursday rose to 14, according to the Delhi Health Department.

In view of the 'Janata curfew' to be observed on March 22, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to keep its services closed, the DMRC said in a statement on Friday.

"The move is aimed at encouraging public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against COVID-19," it said.

Calling for "resolve and restraint" to fight coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked the entire country to observe 'Janta curfew' on Sunday.

In a nearly 30-minute national broadcast, he asked people to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible while underscoring the dangers of coronavirus, saying the world has never seen a crisis as grave as this.

Two more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the number of such patients in the Union Territory to 10, a senior government official said on Friday.

Commissioner Secretary (Health) Rigzin Samphel said both the latest cases were from Choshot village of Leh, which was already notified as a containment area by the district administration.

"After the reports of the two patients came positive, they were immediately shifted to an isolation ward in a hospital here by health officials," Samphel told reporters here.

Uttarakhand government bans the entry of domestic and foreign tourists into the state, to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

With a view to check the spread of coronavirus, the Lucknow district administration on Friday ordered closure of all bars, cafes/lounges, hair salons and beauty parlours with immediate effect.

"All bars, cafes/lounges, hair salons and beauty parlours should be closed with immediate effect till March 31 or till further orders," District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash said.

The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to check spread of coronavirus, he said.

Those who are found not complying with the orders will be facing punishable offence, he added.

To prevent the spread of COVID19, Ladakh Administration orders that no commercial flights landing at Leh shall carry in-bound passengers other than residents of Ladakh, civilian officers and officers of uniformed forces serving in Ladakh.

Maharashtra Education Minister, Varsha Gaikwad: Exams for class 9th & 11th will be conducted after 15th April, 2020. Teachers, except the ones for class 10th, can work from home. 2 papers of class 10th are left. It'll take place as per schedule. These decisions are for SSC Board.

Singer Kanika Kapoor says, “I was scanned at the airport as per normal procedure 10 days ago when I came back home, the symptoms have developed only 4 days ago.”

Government of Karnataka: New coronavirus Helpline numbers 080-46848600 and 080-66692000 are now functional apart from the existing helpline number 104.

Government of Karnataka: 100 teams have been formed consisting of one Doctor with Community Medicine/ Public Health background, one staff nurse and one MSW (Medico Social Worker) for contact tracing specifically in BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) area.

All malls in the national capital will be closed in view of the COVID-19 threat but grocery and pharmacy stores in them are exempt, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday.

"In view of the prevailing situation, we are closing down all malls (except grocery, pharmacy and vegetable shops in them)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Indian officials will participate in a video conference being hosted by China on Friday during which representatives from more than 10 countries of the Eurasian and South Asian region will deliberate on prevention and control of the coronavirus pandemic.

China's Ambassador to India Sun Weidong announced that China will hold a video conference with more than 10 countries in Eurasia and South Asia on prevention and control of COVID-19 on Friday.

In Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur - which have international airports, all shops (other than essentials) and offices to remain closed till 31st March, 2020. State government has ordered complete shutdown in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, except essential services and public transport. This is not a holiday, avoid crowding. Banks to remain open in the state, said Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

Veteran devotional singer Anup Jalota, who was kept in isolation as a preventive measure in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, on Friday said he has tested negative for the contagious disease.

The 66-year-old singer had said on Tuesday that he was in isolation at a Mumbai hotel as a preventive measure after he arrived in India from a concert in Europe.

Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday urged family members to not resist the government move to test and quarantine people returning from countries battling the new coronavirus pandemic, saying "this is not the right approach" to help stop the spread of the deadly virus.

"Indians returning from coronavirus-hit countries are tested and being quarantined here. However, some of them are protesting. I am getting calls from parents requesting release of their children saying they will take care of them at home. This is not the right approach," the minister of state for home affairs told reporters.

Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday urged family members to not resist the government move to test and quarantine people returning from countries battling the new coronavirus pandemic, saying "this is not the right approach" to help stop the spread of the deadly virus.

"Indians returning from coronavirus-hit countries are tested and being quarantined here. However, some of them are protesting. I am getting calls from parents requesting release of their children saying they will take care of them at home. This is not the right approach," the minister of state for home affairs told reporters.

Senior official to ANI on death of an Italian national in Jaipur today: He had recovered (from COVID-19), had tested negative & was discharged by SMS hospital, Jaipur 4 days back. He was admitted again to a pvt hospital there, for his co-morbid condition, and died due to illness.

Maharashtra Health Minister: Today 3 more people tested positive, taking the total number of cases in the state to 52. 5 people, who were admitted earlier, have now tested negative. They are about to be discharged but they will be kept under surveillance for 14 days.

Connaught Place to remain closed from 7am to 9pm on 22nd March: Atul Bhargava, President, New Delhi Traders Association

Bengaluru rail official allegedly hid son who had Coroanavirus, suspended

Government has released a MyGov corona helpdesk on WhatsApp to help reduce panic, reported The Indian Express

Embassy of India in Iran: Embassy & Consulate in Bandar Abbas have started supplying essentials to 1000 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kerala in Iran’s southern provinces of Bushehr & Hormozgan.

18 companies, including International and Indian companies, have got the test licence from Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) to do COVID-19 diagnostic tests in the country.

Sun Weidong, Chinese Ambassador to India: China will hold a video conference with more than 10 countries in the Eurasian and South Asia on prevention&control of COVID-19 today.China will support&assist its friendly neighbors in the spirit of solidarity amid adversity. (file pic)

A prominent Bollywood singer is among the four people who have been tested positive for Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh today.

The Mankapur Indoor Stadium has cancelled all its activities till March 31 in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Friday.

Maharashtra has so far recorded 52 positive cases of Covid-19, the highest in the country.

"As a precautionary measure, we have suspended all sporting activities at the centre," deputy director of sports and youth services Subhash Rewatkar told PTI.

Around 700 sportspersons used to visit the centre for practice on a daily basis, the official said, adding that no visitors will be allowed till March 31.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said the war against coronavirus cannot be fought with "moral armaments" and that lockdown was the only solution.

After he supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the steps suggested by him in his address to the nation on Thursday, the Congress leader said the PM must take tough social and economic measures and he should act boldly and not waste any time.

"ICMR says that the disease is still at Stage 2 (local transmission) in India. This is the moment to act. Let us not allow this moment to pass without decisive action and regret later," he tweeted.

He said he had offered support to the prime minister's announcements yesterday, "but I am absolutely certain that the PM will have no option but to come back with tougher social and economic measures".

"Yesterday, I got the impression that PM was testing the waters. He should act boldly. The war against coronavirus cannot be fought with moral armaments," he said on Twitter.

A total of 206 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases. A total of 14,376 samples from 13,486 individuals have tested positive for COVID19 as on 20th March, 10am.

An official of South Western Railway has been suspended for "hiding" her son, who returned from Germany and later tested positive for coronavirus, at a railway guest house in Bengaluru, officials said on Friday.

She not only failed to inform authorities about her son's return from Germany but also endangered the lives of others by lodging him in a railway rest house near the main Bangalore railway station, railway spokesperson E Vijaya told PTI.

The Assistant Personnel Officer (Traffic) has been suspended, Vijaya said.

The 25-year-old man, who came from Germany via Spain and was instructed to be in home quarantine after he landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on March 13, later tested positive for COVID-19 on March 18, a railway spokesperson told PTI.

"She virtually hid her son to protect her family but endangered all of us," a South Western Railway official said.

69-year-old Italian tourist, who had recovered from COVID-19, dies of cardiac arrest in Jaipur private hospital, says SMS Hospital official

In wake of the coronavirus pandemic, leaders of Christian community here have suspended all public gatherings, including prayer meetings and masses, till March 31, an official said on Friday.

The decision was made based on Mumbai Police's request to contain the spread of the deadly virus, he added.

Leaders of the Christian community from across the city met senior officials of the Mumbai Police on Wednesday and decided to suspend all public gatherings, including prayer meetings and masses, till March 31, he said.

The situation will be reviewed on March 31, he said, addind that the leaders had assured full cooperation to the authorities.

The Sri Lankan government has announced a nationwide curfew from Friday until March 23 as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the President's Office

The Delhi government issued an advisory for the private sector to allow their employees to work from home till March 31 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Friday.

In the advisory, the government also asked people, particulary senior citizens, pregnant women and those affected with hypertension and diabetes, to remain at home.

On Thursday, the total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital rose to 14.

According to the Health Ministry data, the COVID-19 cases in India rose to 195 on Friday after 22 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country.

hree more persons were found positive for coronavirus infection in Maharashtra, taking the number of such cases in the state to 52, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Friday.

A couple in Rajasthan, with travel history of Spain, has tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The Cannes Film Festival has been postponed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The event, which was scheduled for May 12 through 23, might be shifted to June or July, the organisers said.

"Several options are considered in order to preserve its running, the main one being a simple postponement," the organisers' statement said.

"As soon as the development of the French and international health situation will allow us to assess the real possibility, we will make our decision known, in accordance with our ongoing consultation with the French Government and Cannes City Hall as well as with the Festival's Board Members, Film industry professionals and all the partners of the event," they added.

The festival was expected to attract about 40,000 attendees, including delegates to the film market that operates alongside the screening schedule.

A Kolkata resident with a recent travel history to the United Kingdom has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making it the second confirmed case in West Bengal, an official said on Friday.

The man returned from the UK on March 13 and was admitted to the Beliaghata ID Hospital in the city on March 19 with symptoms of COVID-19, the state government official said.

The swabs of the patient were collected and the reports received from the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases confirmed that the man contracted the deadly virus, according to the official.

The man is in his early 20s and a resident of Ballygunge area.

The coronavirus cases in India rose to 195 on Friday after 22 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The overall coronavirus death toll in Iran has increased to 1,284 with the emergence of 149 new fatalities, while Israel became the second worst-hit country in the Middle East with a total of 677 cornfirmed cases.

Odisha has reported the second confirmed case of novel coronavirus after a man who returned from a COVID-19-affected country tested positive, the state health department said.

"Today 14 samples were tested at RMRC (Regional Medical Research Centre) Bhubaneswar out of which one is positive for #COVID2019," the Health and Family Welfare Department tweeted on Thursday night. "This is the second positive case in Odisha." The man has a travel history to a COVID-19-affected country. The state surveillance unit has started tracing the contacts, according to the department.

This is the second positive case in the state after a Italy-returned researcher was found positive, the department said.

The novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 195 on Friday after 22 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

A third Covid-19 case was reported from Andhra Pradesh on Friday with a person who recently returned from Saudi Arabia testing positive.

The US has advised its citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of coronavirus and plan to return immediately.

Upgrading its Health Advisory to Level 4, the State Department said that in countries where commercial departure options remain available, American citizens who live in the US should arrange for immediate return to the country, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period.

US citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel, the State Department said, adding that many countries are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and implementing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines, closing borders, and prohibiting non-citizens from entry with little advance notice.

The novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 195 on Friday after 22 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Health Ministry data.

The cases include 32 foreign nationals  including 17 from Italy, 3 from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each belonging to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

The figure also includes four deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra so far.

"The total number of active COVID 2019 cases across India stands at 171 so far," the ministry said adding that 20 others have been cured/discharged/migrated while four have died.

Delhi has, so far, reported 17 positive cases which includes one foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 19 cases, including one foreigner.  Maharashtra has 47 cases, including three foreigners, while Kerala has recorded 28 cases which include two foreign nationals.

Karnataka has 15 coronavirus patients. The number of cases in Ladakh rose to 10 and Jammu and Kashmir four. Telangana has reported 16 cases which include nine foreigners.  Rajasthan has also reported seven cases including that of two foreigners. Tamil Nadu has three cases so far while Andhra Pradesh has two.

Odisha, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Pondicherry, Chandigarh and Punjab have reported one case each.

In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan have increased to 454 after Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa announced an increase in their provincial tallies.

No new domestic coronavirus cases were confirmed in China for the second consecutive day even as three more fatalities have been reported, taking the death toll in the country to 3,248, the Chinese health authority said on Friday.

No new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease were reported on the Chinese mainland on Thursday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said.

China achieved a new milestone in its efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the last three months by reporting zero cases on Wednesday.

As many as 10 new coronavirus suspects were admitted to the district civil hospital in Nashik, Maharashtra on Thursday, hospital sources said.

All of them are Nashik citizens who had gone abroad and got admitted to the hospital after complaining of throat pain, cough or breathlessness, the sources said.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Nashik Saraf Association has decided to keep all jewellery shops in the city closed on March 20 and 21.

The famous Lord Kalaram temple in the city has also been closed for devotees.