69-Year-Old Woman In Delhi Dies Of Coronavirus, Second Death In India

Coronavirus outbreak Live Updates: As the Union Health Ministry put the active number of novel coronavirus cases at 81, several states across the country intensified measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, shutting down schools, theatres and colleges and many public events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) were postponed.

Addressing a press conference, health officials said an exercise will be undertaken on Saturday to bring back Indian passengers stranded in Iran. "Air India will also send a flight to Milan on Saturday to bring back stranded Indians. It will land on Sunday morning at Delhi airport," officials said. Italy is the second worst-affected country after China, with the death toll crossing 1,000 yesterday. Click here for the helpline numbers of states and union territories

In a step to curb the spread of coronavirus, masks like N95 and hand-sanitisers have been declared essential commodities in India till June-end, a government order said Friday. Maharashtra ordered closure of cinema halls, swimming pools and gyms in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur from Friday midnight.

On Thursday, India recorded its first case of coronavirus death after health officials confirming that a 76-year-old man, who died on his way from Hyderabad to his hometown Karnataka's Kalaburagi, tested positive for the virus. Earlier, three persons, who had tested positive in Kerala, had recovered and were discharged from hospitals.

(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)