Cases rise to 151, Karnataka to be under lockdown till March 31

Coronavirus (COVID-19) LIVE Updates: The Karnataka government Wednesday enforced a lockdown, shutting down all public places including malls, theatre, schools and colleges as COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 13. The total number of cases in the country have spiked to 151, a day after the country reported its third death due to the virus, the Health Ministry informed. State authorities, however, confirmed fresh cases in Noida, Pune and Bengaluru, which could take the number higher.

Moreover, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the Lok Sabha Wednesday that 276 Indians have been infected abroad including — 255 in Iran, 12 in UAE, five in Italy, and one each in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Rwanda.

With schools across several states closed, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisanse of the non-availability of mid-day meals and issued notices to state administrations seeking their replies on how children are being taken care of.

The global toll has crossed 8,000, with over 200,000 people infected. China continues to lead the pack with 82,000 cases, followed by Italy at 27,980 and Iran at 16,169 cases.

(Imputs and image from theindianexpress.com)