New Delhi: The Health Ministry informed that the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 10 in the country on Tuesday as Delhi reported its second fatality. Amid the rising fatalities and spread of the disease, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21 day lockdowm in the country starting from March 25.
The number of coronavirus-positive cases, including casualties, in India reached 519 on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry figures revealed.
Delhi has reported two deaths so far with the second death on Tuesday.
West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh reported a casualty each on Monday while seven deaths were earlier reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat and Punjab.
According to figures updated at 8:15 pm, the number of active COVID-19 cases were 469 while 40 people have been cured/discharged or migrated.
The figure includes 43 foreign nationals and the ten deaths reported so far, the Health Ministry said.
A 65-year-old coronavirus patient died in Mumbai on Monday evening, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. But this case was not counted in the health ministry's latest figure.
Kerala has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 105, followed by Maharashtra which recorded 89, including three foreigners, according to the ministry data.
Karnataka has reported 37 cases of coronavirus patients, while cases in Telangana rose to 35 including 10 foreigners.
Cases in Rajasthan increased to 32, including two foreigners.
Uttar Pradesh has 33 positive cases, including a foreign national. Gujarat also has 33 positive cases including a foreigner.
Cases in Delhi stand at 30, including one foreigner.
In Haryana, there are 28 cases, including 14 foreigners, while Punjab has reported 29 cases.
Ladakh has 13 cases, while Tamil Nadu has reported 15 cases, including two foreigners.
West Bengal reported nine cases while Andhra Pradesh has eight patients. Both Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh reported seven cases each so far.
Jammu and Kashmir has four cases, so has Uttarakhand, including one foreigner.
There are three cases each in Himachal Pradesh and Bihar while there are two cases in Odisha.
Puducherry, Manipur and Chhattisgarh have reported a case each.
21 day lockdown in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a complete lockdown across the country for 21 days from Tuesday midnight, asserting that this is necessary for a decisive battle against the coronavirus outbreak.
In his second address to the nation on the pandemic raging across much of the world, Modi said the decision will have an economic cost but saving people's lives is of the paramount interest to his government.
"If we don't handle these 21 days well, then our country, your family will go backwards by 21 years," he said.
There will be complete bar on people from stepping outsides their homes, he said and even folded his hands to emphasise his request to citizens to adhere to the call.
Experts and the experience of countries fighting the deadly virus make it clear that the social distancing is the only way to combat the disease, he asserted.
COVID-19, which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019, is the name of the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Coronavirus family with crown-shaped spikes on its surfaces. The name of the disease was given by the World Health Organisation.
(With PTI inputs)
