Coronavirus LIVE Update: India's Cases Rise To 59,92,532; 94,503 Dead

Andaman And Nicobar Islands Shut All Tourism Till March 26

The Andaman & Nicobar administration has shut all travel and tourism related activities in the union territory starting Monday till March 26.

In an advisory issued on the COVID-19 outbreak, the health secretary of the Andaman & Nicobar administration wrote: "In order to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands all tourists are advised to refrain from travelling to the islands from midnight March 16 to March 26."

Events With More Than 50 People To Be Banned In Delhi

Operation of theaters & weekly bazaars in Delhi will remain suspended till March 31. Shopping malls to be disinfected daily in Delhi&le amount of hand sanitizers to be made available at mall entrance& shops, entry should be allowed after cleaning hands with hand sanitizer, reported news wire agency ANI.

The Delhi government will also examine if thermal screening for coronavirus coul be done in Delhi Metro. All autos, taxis to be disinfected for free.

The government also stated that any sort of gatherings of over 50 people including protests but excluding marriages will not be allowed in Delhi.

The CM also stated that quarantine facilities were set uo at three Delhi hotels -- Lemon Tree, Red Fox and IBIS which are near the airport. 

Government Announces New COVID-19 Helplines

The Press Information Bureau of India released the two new helplines the government has come up with to help the country tackle COVID-19. 

The numbers are 1075 and 1800-112-545

Maharashtra Confirmed Case Count Reaches 38

Six new cases have been reported in Maharashtra taking the total count of confirmed cases in the state to 38. 

One new in Pimpri-Chinchwad, one in Navi Mumbai, one in Yavatmal. three in Mumbai have been reported on March 16. 

The total distribution of cases are as follows: 

Pimpri Chinchwad:9

Mumbai:8

Pune:7

Nagpur:4

Yavatmal:3

Navi Mumbai:2

Thane, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Kalyan, Raigad: 1 each

Karnataka And Odisha Report New Cases On March 16

On March 16, Odisha reported its first confirmed case on March 16, after a 33-year-old researcher returned from Italy and tested positive. He has been admitted to Capital Hospital and is stable according to officials. 

In Karnataka, the daughter of the 76-year-old who died due to co-morbidities along with COVID-19 tested positive taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 7. 

Uttarakhand And Rajasthan Reported Cases On March 15

Uttarakhand reported its first case on March 15.A probationer at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) tesed  positive for the virus. The probationer had returned from Spain on March 11, Director (Health) SK Gupta told news agency PTI.

He has been admitted at the isolation ward of Doon Medical College and Hospital, the official said and was tested at a laboratory in Haldwani. A second person with him tested negative. 

Rajasthan stated that the first three confirmed cases had tested negative but were not yet discharged from the hospitals. Meanwhile, it reported a fourth positive case with a 24-year-old testing positive for the virus, The travel history of the person has not been disclosed. 

India Confirms 110 Cases

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has recorded 110 positive cases as of March 15,2020. 

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand reported new cases.

A total of 13 people have recovered while 2 have died taking the count of active cases to 97. 

1st and 2nd Test Free Announces Government

Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary, Ministry of Health has stated to wire agency, ANI that 1st and 2nd confirmatory tests for COVID-19 will not be charged for all the citizens. 

The Secretary stated that India has enough stock and capacity as only 10 per cent of the capacity has been used so far. This statement comes amid questions being raised about India conducting less tests. 

States That Have Shut Schools And Colleges

Owing to the increasing cases of COVID-19, all  states except Gujarat and the north eastern states other than Assam, with and without cases have shut down schools and colleges till March 31, 2020. 

Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh announced shut downs till March 22, while some news report announced that Jharkhand did announce shutting of schools while some say it didn't. Andhra Pradesh has not made any announcements, yet. 

The states are as follows: 

Delhi

Maharashtra

Kerala

Karnataka- March 22

Tamil Nadu

Punjab

Bihar

Odisha

Rajasthan

Jammu and Kashmir 

Telangana

Haryana

Uttarakhand

Himachal Pradesh

West Bengal 

Assam

Chhattisgarh

Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh - till March 22

Western Railways To Stop Using Curtains And Blankets

Western Railways tweeted on Saturday March 14, 2020 that they would stop providing curtains and blankets in long distance trains owing to the increasing cases of COVID-19. These are not washed before every trip.