Coronavirus: Kejriwal to meet Health Min Harsh Vardhan as cases in India soar above 40

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is scheduled to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday to discuss the issue of Coronavirus. The meeting is scheduled at 1 PM, said Special Secretary (Health), Sanjeeva Kumar. According to the latest update, there are a total of 43 cases of Coronavirus tested positive in India. Of the 43 cases, 40 are active while the three people from Kerala have been discharged. 

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Four new cases have been reported since yesterday. One from Kerala, one from Delhi, one from Uttar Pradesh, and one from Jammu. Yesterday, five cases were reported from Kerala of which three are from the same family having travel history to Italy and two of their relatives who came in contact with them. The family is reported to have visited relatives and attended few functions and their contacts are being traced. So far, 43 samples have been tested positive out of 3,003 samples tested for Covid-19 with 2,694 samples having returned as negative.

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Schools shut, travel advisory imposed

Schools from various parts of the country including the national capital have been shut amid the Coronavirus scare. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also cancelled his participation in Holi festival amid the scare and has urged people to avoid mass gatherings. Amid the increasing Coronavirus cases in India and other countries, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on March 4 released an updated travel advisory on the COVD-19. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that universal screening has been started at all international airports in India to detect the virus cases.    

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The deadly virus, that originated in China late last year, continues to spread around the world and has infected more than 110,041 people claiming over 3,800 lives worldwide. While most of the cases are from Hubei province of China and the city of Wuhan (the epicentre of the outbreak), other countries including Iran, Italy, Japan, and the Philippines have also reported deaths related to the novel coronavirus.

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