indica News Bureau-
A 69-year-old woman in Delhi became the second coronavirus fatality in India, after a 76-year old man in Karnataka. The total number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 82. In other parts of the world, Italy and Spain reported a surge in fatalities in the last couple of days and have imposed lockdowns, while the US has put a ban on travel from almost all of Europe.
The scare has forced the closure of schools and colleges in many parts of the country. According to a report by Times of India, In Delhi, primary schools have been closed till March 31, while in Kashmir and Ladakh all academic institutions will be shut till the end of the month.
All schools and colleges in Uttar Pradesh will remain shut till March 22, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday. The precautionary measure was taken as the number of COVID-19 cases in UP touched 11.
The Bihar govt has also ordered all schools and colleges, both private and govt, along with all coaching institutes that would remain closed till March 31.
The Arunachal Pradesh government in the northeast has temporarily suspended issuing protected area permits (PAPs) to foreigners to check the spread of coronavirus. Citizens from other nations require PAPs to enter the state in India that shares a border with China. Mizoram has sealed its border with Myanmar.
Meanwhile, many other states like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and many more announced to close schools, colleges, and other educational institutes to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
A Google employee in its Bangalore, India, office has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and is in quarantine, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC.
“We are sorry to report that we have one confirmed case of a Bangalore-based Googler testing positive for COVID-19,” said Anand Rangarajan, director of engineering and Bangalore site lead for Google in an email to Bangalore employees Thursday.
“The Googler contracted the virus after traveling overseas, and was in the RMZ office on Monday, 9th March having not displayed any symptoms and passed the temperature screening,” Rangarajan wrote. “A few hours later, the Googler felt unwell and decided to return home. They were subsequently screened at a government-authorized hospital, placed in government quarantine and today confirmed as being infected by COVID-19. We’ve been in touch with the Googler and are offering our support.”
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s the second known case of a Google employee contracting the disease and potentially being in contact with other workers. At the end of February, A Google employee from its Zurich office tested positive for the coronavirus, triggering the company’s initial travel restrictions. As the outbreak has spread, Google this week told nearly all of its global employees to work from home for the coming weeks, including its more than 100,000 North American employees who were asked to work from home until at least April 10.
