The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 125
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 125 on Tuesday after fresh cases were reported from several states. The cases include 22 foreign nationals and two persons who died in Delhi and Karnataka. Delhi has so far reported seven positive cases while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 13 cases including one foreigner. Karnataka has 8 coronavirus patients while Maharashtra 39 including 3 foreigners. Ladakh has reported four cases while Jammu and Kashmir three. Telangana has reported four cases. Rajasthan has also reported four cases including that of two foreigners. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported one case each. Odhisha reported its first case on Monday. In Haryana all the fourteen infected with the virus are foreigners while Uttarakhand has reported one case. Kerala has recorded 24 cases including two foreign nationals.
US, China accuse each other of coronavirus fear-mongering
The United States and China on Monday each demanded that the other stop smearing its reputation over the novel coronavirus as Donald Trump referred to the pathogen as the “Chinese Virus.” “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” the US president tweeted Monday night.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, in tweets last week in both Mandarin and English, suggested that “patient zero” in the global pandemic may have come from the United States — not the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan.
Tom Hanks released from hospital
Tom Hanks has been released from the Australian hospital where he was in isolation since testing positive for the coronavirus last week, but his wife Rita Wilson remains hospitalized., health officials said Tuesday. The multiple Oscar-winning actor was on the Gold Coast near Brisbane to film an Elvis Presley biopic directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann when he and Wilson, both 63, came down with the disease.
Fears grow for Tokyo Olympics
The International Olympic Committee will hold high-level talks on Tuesday, as doubts grow over the Tokyo Games and with some in Japan urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency. While countries across Europe have gone into full lockdown after the continent was declared the new epicentre of the deadly virus by the World Health Organization, no decision is expected yet on a possible postponement, or indeed cancellation, of this summer’s Olympics. The IOC’s executive board will meet via conference call to prepare an “information exchange” ahead of a series of talks with athletes’ representatives, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs), planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.
WHO chief calls for widespread virus testing
head of the World Health Organisation called Monday for every suspected coronavirus case to be tested, as countries across Europe tightened their lockdowns and global stock markets tumbled again. “You cannot fight a fire while blindfolded,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists. “Test, test, test. Test every suspected case.” The virus is spreading rapidly, forcing governments to impose restrictions rarely seen outside wartime — closing borders, ordering home quarantine and scrapping public events including major sporting fixtures.