Coronavirus cases in country touch 137, Mumbai man becomes third fatality

India on Tuesday reported its third coronavirus fatality with a 63-year-old dying in Mumbai, Health Ministry officials said as the number of positive cases rose to 137 and more parts of the country shut down to stem the spread of the infection.

The government, which on Monday banned the entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31, also closed its doors to those from Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia with immediate effect, according to an additional travel advisory.

Unheard of till just a few days ago, 'social distancing' was the buzz-term as public spaces, including monuments such as the Taj Mahal, shut down and many thousands of people prepared to spend the next few days confined to home, working or studying online.

The Mumbai patient with a travel history to Dubai is the first COVID-19 death in Maharashtra, which has the most number of coronavirus cases at 39, officials said.

Earlier, a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi in Karnataka with a travel history to Saudi Arabia and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi died after they tested positive for the infection that according to Johns Hopkins University has infected 1,82,000 people and claimed over 7,100 lives globally.

The Maharashtra patient, whose wife also tested positive and is stable, was in a private hospital for five days and subsequently referred to Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital, officials said. He reportedly did not disclose his travel history when he was admitted to the private hospital.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the exact cause behind his death is being ascertained as he was also suffering from various ailments.

Asking BJP MPs to spread awareness about the coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear the Budget Session of Parliament will not be curtailed as lawmakers should be seen to be doing their work at a time such as this.

In his address at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Modi heaped praise on doctors and other medical staff as well as airline crews and others involved in tackling the coronavirus crisis, saying they have worked positively and tirelessly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters.

Amid rising coronavirus cases, the government has said no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there have only been a few cases of local transmission so far.

With the WHO declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, a Health Ministry official said over 52 000 people who had come in contact with the 126 positive cases have been identified through contact tracing and are under vigorous surveillance.

He said all essential facilities like community surveillance, quarantine, isolation wards, adequate personal protective equipment (PPEs), trained manpower, rapid response teams are being strengthened.

The Central government also issued an order asking all ministries to install thermal scanners at government buildings and suspend the routine issue of visitors and temporary passes.

As consternation mounted, public events such as concerts and plays and even weddings were called off or pushed indefinitely. People queued up to stock up on essential provisions in the eventuality of a lockdown of their neighbourhoods.

Educational institutes, cinema halls as well as several gated communities and other residential neighbourhoods curtailed the number of visitors as did offices that asked many of their people to work from home.

"In the wake of the coronavirus we can't deny the fact that restaurants are places where social distancing can't be practised. These are times when we need to think about our staff and patrons more than our business. At midnight today we at first fiddle are  shutting down all our restaurants till 31st March across the country and we will be back with a bang once the virus goes," said Priyank Sukhija who owns restaurant franchises, including Flying Saucer, Lord of the Drinks and Tamasha across several cities.

In Uttar Pradesh, the state government announced the closure of all educational institutions in the state till April 2.

Competitive and other examinations have been postponed till April 2 and tourist places in the city shut, a minister said.