Coronavirus live update: As cases surge in the country, India suspends visas to German, Spanish and French nationals

Coronavirus cases spiked significantly in India in the past few hours. This has spurred the government to contemplate more measures to contain spread of the virus.

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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : March 11, 2020 10:58 AM IST

The world today woke up to massive surges in coronavirus cases across the globe. With the virus showing no signs of abating, governments are resorting to drastic measures to contain the virus and prevent its spread. So far, nothing seems to be working but efforts are sure to bear fruit soon. China, which put in place unheard of restrictions to halt the progress of the disease has seen a significant drop in cases in recent days.

Positive cases surge past 50 in India

With the number of coronavirus cases in India surging past 50, India takes more measures to contain the spread of the virus. As of now, the government has suspended visas to German, Spanish and French nationals. People with travel history to Italy, S Korea will also need a 'negative' Covid-19 certificate to enter India. All this comes in the wake of reports that the actual figures may be much higher. In fact, certain reports put the figure at over 60. According to the Health Ministry, India has 50 positive cases of coronavirus so far. Of these, 34 are Indian nationals and 16 are foreigners.

Italy under unprecedented lockdown

The rapid spread of the coronavirus to all corners of the world has driven countries to put in place drastic measures to contain the disease. Italy, which had earlier put the wealthy northern region under lockdown, has now extended it to the whole country. Italy has more than 9,000 cases and 463 deaths related to the virus, mostly in the north. The number of cases increased significantly in recent days. It is the first time in modern history that such a drastic measure is being imposed in an European nation.

Elsewhere in the world

The number of positive cases in the US is now more than 1000 and death rates are going up every day. Iran has more than 8000 cases and around 300 deaths and the situation is just bad in South Korea. But death rate in South Korea is much lower at around 60. Spain and France have reported similar numbers of around 1,600 cases and below 50 deaths. Germany, on the other hand, has had only 3 deaths but the number of confirmed cases here hovers around 12,000. And, Japan has at least 600 confirmed cases and the death toll here is 9.