FIR against Covid-positive journalist who attended Kamal Nath presser flouting isolation

Amid coronavirus outbreak in the country, news agency PTI on Saturday reported that FIR has been lodged against a journalist who attended senior Congress leader Kamal Nath's final news conference as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, despite her daughter being coronavirus suspect. Days after the press conference, the journalist and his daughter had tested positive for the infection after which case was registered against them. As per reports, other journalists who were at the news conference where Kamal Nath announced his resignation as chief minister have been asked to self-quarantine.

A case was registered against the journalist on Friday night at Shyamla Hills Police Station under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), a Bhopal police spokesman said. The journalist was booked for violating the government's preventive orders related to coronavirus pandemic.

The journalist's daughter, a post-graduate law student, had returned from London to Bhopal on March 18. She had been asked to observe home quarantine. But two days after her arrival, the journalist attended Kamal Nath's last press conference as the CM on March 20, official sources said. On March 22, the journalist's daughter tested positive for coronavirus. Three days later, the journalist was also found infected, creating a panic among the mediapersons and others who had attended the press conference, sources said.

So far, 33 positive coronavirus cases have been found in the state. Sixteen of them are residents of Indore, eight of Jabalpur, three each of Bhopal and Ujjain, two of Shivpuri and one of Gwalior, the health department officials have said. Of them, two COVID-19 patients, one each from Indore and Ujjain, have died.

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Coronavirus in India

As of March 28, India has reported  791 cases so far, and 19 deaths. To tackle the growing cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. The highest number of cases have been reported from Kerala - 176 cases and Maharashtra - 156 cases. 

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Meanwhile, on Monday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday, has published a study warning about community transmission of the pandemic that may take place from a minimum of 20 days to a few months. It also states that by quarantining of individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 can delay the introduction of the virus into the community by three days to three weeks  - which in turn reduces cumulative cases by 62%  and the peak number of cases by 89%, in an optimistic scenario. 

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