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09:00 GMT
KUWAIT, March 30 (KUNA) -- The death toll and infections of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to be heartbreakingly growing worldwide despite massive restrictions involving lockdowns, curfews and rules on social distancing.
The respiratory virus, which first appeared in China's central city of Wuhan, is now affecting nearly 200 countries and has infected more than 700,000 people with over 33,000 fatalities.
In India, health authorities said the death toll from the virus rose to 29 and the total number of positive cases climbed to 1,071, in spite of all efforts to control the spread of coronavirus to more areas.
The latest data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed on Monday that out of the total 1071 corona virus positive cases, 100 people recovered, 29 people died and the remaining 942 active cases are receiving treatment.
The southern Indian state of Kerala is the worst affected state as it registered 194 cases and one death while Maharashtra reported 193 positive cases and 8 deaths as the nation entered into the six day of lockdown.
South Korea reported 78 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, bringing the nation's total to 9,661, amid rising concerns over transmission in Seoul and the surrounding region, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The death toll rose by six to 158, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. New COVID-19 infections reported in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon totaled 31, bringing the total number of cases in the metropolitan area to 947, the public health agency said.
A majority of the recent cases in the capital area believed to be imported cases, as around 70 percent of South Korean who recently flocked back to the country are based in this region, the report said.
Starting Wednesday, the government will enforce a two-week mandatory quarantine on all entrants from overseas in a drastic move to curb a steady rise in imported cases. Under the new measure, all arrivals to the country regardless of nationality are required to stay in isolation for 14 days.
Visitors without local addresses are to stay in government-designated facilities at their own expense. South Korea is already enforcing both a two-week quarantine period and virus tests for all long-term arrivals from Europe, regardless of symptoms. Entrants from the US have also been required to self-isolate at home for two weeks.
Japan plans to include in its list of entry denials foreigners arriving from the US, China and South Korea as well as most parts of Europe and some parts of Southeast Asia as the coronavirus pandemic expands, public broadcaster NHK reported Monday.
The government has decided to soon raise a travel alert to all parts of the US to Level 3, recommending the cancellation of trips to the country. It will also ban foreigners who have stayed in the US in the past two weeks from entering Japan. The move comes amid the sharp rise of infections in the US, according to the report.
The government plans to take the same measures against all of China and South Korea, most parts of Europe including Britain, and some parts of Southeast Asia such as Thailand, the report said. All other remaining countries or territories will be ranked as Level 2, under which Japanese nationals will be urged to avoid making any non-essential trips to them.
The number of Japan's new coronavirus infections stood at 1,896 as of 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Monday, excluding 712 people who were aboard the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship, according to a NHK tally based on the central and local governments.
So far, 57 people have died in the country from the respiratory virus, excluding 10 from the cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo in February.
In Ramallah, Spokesman for the Palestinian government Ibrahim Melhim said today a man in his 30s tested positive for the serious bug, raising the count of infections in Palestine to 109 so far.
The fresh case belongs to the family whose members were reportedly infected by the virus earlier on Sunday, said the spokesman, adding that 12 patients were put under quarantine in Israeli hospitals.
Iraq's Kurdistan Region reported a further eight cases, bringing the total number of its infections with the serious bug up to 150, with two fatalities and 55 recoveries.
Austrian health authorities said in an online statement that 277 additional cases were confirmed, raising to 8,813 the total number of this European country's infections, in addition to 479 recoveries from the disease.
In the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the COVID-19 went up to 17, with 2837 infections and 11 recoveries. The cases mostly came from Italy and Austria, it said in a statement. (end)
kt.mt