A group of students wearing protective masks walk outside a railway station amid coronavirus fears, in Kochi, on March 10, 2020. Image Credit: Reuters

Dubai: The Kerala government yesterday imposed fresh restrictions in the state to check the spread of coronavirus, while Karnataka traced more than 2,000 people who came into contact with Covid-19 positive cases.

Six new cases were detected in Kerala on Tuesday taking the total number of positive cases in Kerala to 12, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

“The cabinet held a meeting and we had a brief of what’s happening from various district health officials. We have decided to close all educational institutions in the state for the month of March. But all the examinations will be held as normal. There will be no examination for classes 1 to 7, while the others will have examinations as usual,” Vijayan told the media.

The chief minister said all government events in the state in March would be cancelled. “In the best interests of all, movie halls and dramas should not function. Marriages that are fixed, should be held in a low profile manner, likewise there should be no gala festivities that are associated with all religious establishments,” the chief minister said.

The worst-affected districts include Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kottayam and many of the suspected cases are waiting for results.

2 admitted to Kolkata hospital

Two suspected coronavirus patients, who had returned from Indonesia and Malaysia recently, were on Tuesday admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in northeast Kolkata's Beliaghata, hospital sources said.

Both of them have been kept at the isolation ward. Their swab samples have been collected and sent for testing.

5 test positive in Pune

In Maharashtra, five patients tested positive for Covid-19 and have been admitted in an isolation award at a local hospital, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.

On Monday, a Pune couple, with a history of travel to Dubai, tested coronavirus positive and were quarantined. On Tuesday, their daughter, a cab-driver, who ferried them from Mumbai Airport to their Pune home, and a co-passenger, also tested positive. All of them are undergoing treatment in isolation at Naidu Hospital here.

“The condition of the patients are stable. Mild symptoms of coronavirus were found in one of these two patients, whereas the other has not yet shown any symptoms. The information about all the people who came in contact with these two patients and the places where they have visited, is being collected,” Divisional Commissioner of Pune Deepak Mhaisekar told media persons.

2,000 people traced in Karnataka

Three more positive Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka taking the tally to four, state Health Minister B.Sriramulu said on Tuesday.

Their family members have been isolated and their health is being monitored.

The Karnataka Health Department has traced 2,678 people who came in contact with the four positive coronavirus people in the state, an official said on Tuesday. “Four positive coronavirus cases identified in Bengaluru have left a trail of 2,678 people who came in contact with them,” the department’s Information, Education and Communication (IEC) special officer Suresh Shastri told IANS.

The four positive cases - a family of three and another man - have been quarantined.

A 46-year-old male with travel history to US via Dubai is the first positive coronavirus case in Karnataka, followed by a 47-year-old woman, a contact of the first case and a 13-year-old girl, also a contact of the first case.

The fourth positive case is a 50-year-old male with travel history to USA via London. The Health Department traced 12 people who came in touch with him but none of them have displayed coronavirus symptoms yet.

Indian pilgrims from Iran under quarantine

Indian nationals who were brought back from Iran by Indian Air Force's (IAF) C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Hindon airport on Tuesday. Image Credit: ANI

Indians nationals, who were airlifted from Iran and reached India on Tuesday morning, have been quarantined at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad and will be kept in isolation for 14 days. In all, 58 Indian citizens, including 25 men, 31 women and 2 children were brought back by the Indian Air Force. The aircraft also carried 529 samples for investigation. All the passengers were taken to a nearby isolation centre. The operation consisted of 17 Indian Air Force personnel, of which 13 were Air Force personnel and 4 were medical staff. The evacuated group also includes a 79-year-old man.

Along with this, 17 crew members of the Air Force will also be kept in isolation for the next 28 days.