Plans afoot for statue of Ram in Ayodhya: BJP leader

New Delhi, Mar 24: Nearly 500 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far, according to Health Ministry data on Tuesday.

According to the data updated Tuesday morning, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 492, including 446 active cases.

The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the nine deaths reported so far, the Health Ministry said.

West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh reported a casualty each on Monday while seven deaths were earlier reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab.

Thirty-seven people have been cured/discharged/migrated, it added.

The number of active cases at 446 saw an increase of 22 from last night's figure.

As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.

Kerala has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far at 95, including eight foreign nationals, followed by Maharashtra which recorded 87, including three foreigners, according to the ministry data.

Karnataka has reported 37 cases of coronavirus patients, while cases in Rajasthan increased to 33, including two foreigners.

Uttar Pradesh has 33 positive cases, including a foreign national.

Telangana has so far reported 32 cases, including 10 foreigners.

Cases in Delhi rose to 31, including one foreigner, while Gujarat has reported 29 cases.

In Haryana, there are 26 cases, including 14 foreigners, while Punjab has reported 21 cases.

Ladakh has 13 cases, while Tamil Nadu has reported 12 cases, including two foreigners.

West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have reported seven cases each so far.

Chandigarh has six cases, while Jammu and Kashmir has four cases.

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have reported three cases each, while there are two cases each in Bihar and Odisha.

Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported a case each.

Apr 13: The Supreme Court of India has said Indian expatriates stranded abroad cannot be flown back immediately. All petitions before India's apex court which sought directions or orders to 'bring back Indians stranded in various countries abroad' has been deferred for four weeks, according to Indian media reports.

The Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde led bench took up matters pertaining to evacuation of Indian citizens stranded abroad amid the Covid19 pandemic.
Supreme Court today deferred for 4 weeks, all the petitions before it which sought directions or orders to 'bring back Indians stranded in various countries abroad'.

A total of seven petitions seeking directions from Court on the immediate evacuation of Indian nationals from UK, US, Iran and Gulf countries were taken up simultaneously.

Bobde said, "Stay where you are. People in other countries cannot be brought back right now"

Foreigners stuck in India granted visa extension

Furthermore, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced a visa extension for all foreigners who are stranded in in India due to ongoing travel restrictions imposed by the government.

Regular visa,e-visa or stay stipulation of such foreigners stranded in India due to travel restrictions by Indian Authorities&whose visas have expired/would be expiring between 01.02&30.04, would be extended till 30 April on gratis basis,after online application by foreigners:MHA

Lucknow, May 3:Holding the Tablighi Jamaat responsible for the spread of COVID-19, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that being infected with a virus is not a crime but to hide it is definitely a crime.

Speaking at a programme of a news channel, Adityanath said, "The role of Tablighi Jamaat was most condemnable. To get a disease is not a crime but to hide a disease which is infectious is definitely a crime. And this crime has been done by those associated with the Tablighi Jamaat."

"In Uttar Pradesh and other places where the spread of the coronavirus has been seen, Tablighi Jamaat is behind it. Had they not hidden the disease and went about like its carriers, then perhaps we would have controlled the coronavirus outbreak to a large extend," he said.

The chief minister said action would be taken against them for the "crime that they have committed".

A Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi in March turned out to be a major source of COVID-19 cases, with those who attended the meet returned home in different parts of the country after being infected with the deadly virus.