India reports third coronavirus death

By Cheena Kapoor

NEW DELHI (AA) - A 64-year-old man, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was hospitalized in Mumbai, died on Tuesday, raising the death toll in the country to three, officials said.

He died in Kasturba Hospital in the western Maharashtra state, where the largest of the number of coronavirus cases -- 36 -- have been confirmed among the country's 126, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a statement to the media.

The patient had a travel history to Dubai. His wife is COVID-19 positive and is stable, according to the ministry.

Two new positive cases were reported early on Tuesday, one each in the southwestern Karnataka and northern Uttar Pradesh states. The national capital of Delhi has so far reported seven cases.

Of the total, 13 cases have been discharged after recovering from COVID-19.

The two previous deaths were a 76-year-old man in Karnataka, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi.

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus in India, the health ministry announced a temporary travel ban from the EU, U.K. and Turkey on Monday, to be effective from Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the ministry also suspended travel from Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia, with immediate effect. Airlines have been informed not to board any passenger from these countries in effect from 03.00 p.m. local time (0930GMT).

The advisory came after with an earlier advisory on March 11, under which all tourist visas were suspended until April 15, with a compulsory 14-day quarantine period for those traveling from or transiting through the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.

On Monday, the ministers of health, civil aviation and external affairs held a meeting to review the current status, and actions for prevention and management of COVID-19.

"After the meeting, the social distancing measures as a preventive strategy have been proposed for implementation. These measures are a preventive step to contain COVID-19 in the country and will in force till March 31," said a document released by the ministry.

The virus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, was first reported in Wuhan, China last December.

It has thus far spread to some 150 countries and territories resulting in death of more than 7,000 people amid over 182,000 people infected, according to data by Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, U.S.