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

Mumbai Police Bans Tours By Private Operators

The Mumbai Police issued an order prohibiting conduct of any kind of tour involving group of people traveling together to a foreign or domestic destination organised by private tour operators or otherwise as a precautionary measure to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus. The order shall remain in force till March 31, 2020. 

Private tour operators will have to seek the permission of the Commissioner of Police if they wish to continue with the travels.

UK National Tests Positive In Kochi, Dubai Flight Offloaded

At least 289 passengers of a Dubai-bound flight were offloaded at the airport in Cochin on Sunday shortly before takeoff after a UK national among them tested positive for novel coronavirus, official sources said.

The passenger belonged to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesman said.

Maharashtra Passes COVID-19 Regulation Act

The Maharashtra Government on Saturday March 14, 2020 passed 'the Maharashtra COVID-19 Regulations, 2020' in lieu of the increasing cases of COVID-19 in the state. These set of 13 regulations will be in effect for a year in the state.

The regulations state that all hospitals, both government and private should have separate corners for testing of suspected cases along with recording the travel history of the person and the history of contacts they have had since the time they developed symptoms. These details have to be provided to the State Integrated Diseases Surveillance Programs office as well as the respective District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners. 

The Roman Catholic Church issued an advisory in Goa to urge church-goers who have come in contact with COVID-19 patients to avoid attending prayers. They also urged priests to purify their hands before distributing Holy Communion.

This comes after Goa announced shutting schools, colleges and discos till March 31. 

Goa: Roman Catholic Church has issued advisory urging those who have come in contact with #CoronaVirus patients to not attend public functions, including prayers. Church also urged priests to purify their hands with water or sanitiser before distribution of Holy Communion

— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2020

India Suspends Passenger Immigration At Land Checks With Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar

The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that all passenger movements at Immigration Land Check posts with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutam, and Myanmar from MArch 15, 2020 while with Pakistan from March 16, 2020 except at 20 designated spots across 8 states. 

India's Cases Rise To 107

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Confirmed 107 positive cases of COVID-19. 

New cases have been confirmed in Maharashtra which has 31 confirmed cases and Telangana which has 3 cases.  

Government Does A U Turn On 4 Lakh Gratia

On Saturday March 14, 2020, the BJP government did a U-turn on granting ex-gratia relief of Rs 4 lakh each to families of those who die of the novel coronavirus, hours after it made the announcement, as reported by the Print.

The home ministry had earlier stated it would treat COVID-19 as a notified disaster to provide assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

The government also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for all coronavirus deaths and those involved in relief operations in the containment of COVID-19. It also stated that it would provide monetary assistance on hospitalisation costs for managing COVID-19 cases “at rates fixed by the state government”.

But, within hours, a revised notification was released which said monetary help would be extended for quarantine measures, sample collection and screening. Procurement of essential equipment and labs to contain the disease will also be covered under the SDRF. The clause on ex-gratia and cost of hospitalisation of all coronavirus positive patients was deleted.

Aurangabad Woman Tests Positive

A 59-year-old woman in Aurangabad with travel history to Russia tested positive taking Maharashtra's count of confirmed cases to 32. 

From the four new cases confirmed yesterday in Mumbai, one is the son of the man who travelled to Dubai and was admitted to Hinduja Hospital, the other three have travel history to US, France and Philippines. 

MOHFW Reports 93 Positive Cases

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 93 confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with two deaths as of March 15,2020. 

Kerala with 22 confirmed cases is followed by Maharashtra with 19 cases. 

The Ministry also states that 9 people have recovered from the disease caused by the novel viral outbreak.

Maharashtra state authorities have, however, confirmed 32 cases of the virus. 

Maharashtra COVID-19 Cases Rises To 31

Maharashtra Health Department confirms 5 more patients found positive of COVID-19 in Pimpri-Chinchwad today taking the total tally of positive cases in Pune to 15 and the state tally to 31 cases in total.

The Maharashtra government has announced the closure of shopping malls to remain shut till March 31, 2020. Only grocery shops, vegetable, milk sellers and chemists in a mall can remain open reports The Indian Express