Coronavirus Cases Swell To 114, Stock Market Tanks

A total of 114 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India so far including 13 cured and two reported deaths, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here he said, “Four new cases, one each from Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Kerala have been confirmed since the last update. There are now a total of 114 confirmed cases in India as of today, including 13 cured and two reported deaths.”

A fourth batch of 53 evacuates from Iran has arrived on Monday and they are being quarantined at the Army facility in Jaisalmer, informed the official.

“Fourth batch of 53 evacuates from Iran have arrived today and are being quarantined at the Army facility in Jaisalmer. All are reported to be asymptomatic at present and are in quarantine as per protocol,” Aggarwal added.

Equity benchmark indices extended losses in the afternoon session on Monday as the spreading coronavirus pandemic continued to spook global markets.

The number of virus positive cases climbed to 110 in India with fresh reports coming from Maharashtra and Odisha.

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near-zero a day earlier to help shore up the world’s largest economy. But the move rather scared global investors more than cheering them as it reflected fear among US policy makers about the severe impact of the virus.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 2,713 points or 7.96 per cent lower at 31,390 while the Nifty 50 crashed by 756 points or 7.6 per cent to 9,199.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty metal down by 8.9 per cent, private bank by 8.7 per cent, IT and realty by 8.2 per cent each and financial service by 7.9 per cent.

ANI