Three more coronavirus deaths reported in India as states lock down

Three persons died of the coronavirus in Patna, Mumbai and Surat, news agencies reported as millions of Indians voluntarily undertook a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading epidemic in the country.

ANI reported that a 38-year-old man died of kidney failure at the state-run AIIMS in Patna after testing positive for the coronavirus. Dr Prabhat Kumar Singh told the news agency the man belonged to Munger in Bihar and had returned home from Kolkata two days ago.

A 63-year-old patient of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease died Saturday night in Mumbai after testing positive for the coronavirus, said ANI, citing a statement by the city's Public Health Department. The third death was reported after a 67-year-old patient died in Surat, Gujarat.

The three deaths increased India's toll to 7. As many as 341 have been diagnosed with the disease.

The Punjab government said the state will be locked till March 31 to stem the spread of the coronavirus, joining Rajasthan Maharashtra, Odisha, and Bihar to invoke measures like shutting down markets, curtailing public transport and urging people to keep indoors.

Eleven more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Punjab on Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed cases of the infection to 14 in the state. Several states and cities have announced measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced lockdowns in 35 countries across the globe, disrupting lives, travel and businesses as governments scramble to shut borders and unleash hundreds of billions in emergency measures to avoid a widespread virus-fuelled economic meltdown, The Associated Press reported.

More than 300,000 infections have been confirmed worldwide, with the situation increasingly grim in Italy where the death toll spiked to more than 4,800 -- over a third of the global total.