Madhya Pradesh reports first coronavirus death; Toll in India rises to 12

Madhya Pradesh reported its first death due to coronavirus infection, as a 65-year-old woman from Ujjain died during the treatment in an Indore hospital. The number of patients has also risen up to 18 with the detection of four new cases Indore and one in Ujjain. Six in Jabalpur, two in Gwalior and three in Bhopal are already undergoing treatment.

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Rumours were afloat in Bhopal about former chief minister Kamal Nath going in self-isolation after reports came up saying one of the journalists who attended Nath’s last press conference was found positive for coronavirus in the test. However, later Kamal Nath’s media convenor scotched the rumour, saying the senior Congress leader is well and doing his work.

The journalist was tested positive on Wednesday and his daughter, who had returned from London on March 17, was also tested positive for the pandemics four days ago. She was declared fit at the New Delhi airport, but later doctors at AIIMS, Bhopal found her infected during her medical check-up.

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Reports about the journalist’s infection created a massive flutter in the media circle because nearly 200 other media men and women had also attended the press conference. A majority of them have gone into self-isolation. The state’s public relation commissioner P Narhari advised the journalists in a written message to self-quarantine themselves as a precautionary measure.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed officials to closely scrutinise all the national sanctuaries and tourist places where tourists from abroad had visited in the last two weeks.