Coronavirus: India Confirms its first death

On February 29, the 76-year-old man from Karnataka returned from Saudi Arabia on after a month-long visit.

The state's health minister assured that people who came in contact with the person were being found and quarantined. The health ministry says India has 77 confirmed cases of the virus till now. The man passes away on Tuesday, but his test results were disclosed on Thursday.

Officials said when he arrived from Saudi Arabia, he was screened at the airport but did not show any symptoms at the time. On March 5, he stated with breathing difficulties and was subsequently taken to a hospital.

India has taken several steps to stop the spread of Covid-19. On Wednesday night the Union health ministry said all current visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/International organisations, project and employment visas would be suspended till April 15. "This will come into effect from 1200 GMT on 13th March 2020 at the port of departure," read a message issued on Wednesday late night after a meeting of a Group of Ministers headed by health minister Dr Harshvardhan.

Visa facilities had been partly suspended earlier from the coronavirus infected nations, countries where the virus is on a charge.