Coronavirus: India tally at 169 as Kashmir reports first case, suspected patient jumps to death...

The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the country has reached 169 after seven more were tested positive for Covid-19 in Telangana. All seven new cases are Indonesian nationals. Section 144 was imposed in Davangere in Karnataka, Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases climbed by 28 on Wednesday.

In Maharashtra, which has the highest number of positive coronavirus cases so far, three more persons, including a woman, tested positive for the Covid-19, taking the number of infections in the state to 45. Pune district's count touched 19 on Wednesday after a 22-year-old man with travel history to the Philippines tested positive for the coronavirus in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Meanwhile, a suspected coronavirus patient has committed suicide at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, soon after he was admitted to the facility by airport authorities. The man was brought by the airport authorities as a coronavirus suspect and was immediately put in the isolation ward. He forced open the isolation ward and jumped off the seventh floor of the building, the hospital authorities said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Thursday evening on the situation arising out of coronavirus outbreak and the efforts to combat it, the Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.

"PM Shri @narendramodi will address the nation on 19th March 2020 at 8 PM, during which he will talk about issues relating to COVID-19 and the efforts to combat it," the PMO tweeted. In another tweet, the PMO said Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus.