Thrissur, March 20: A total of 12 new coronavirus cases were confirmed by the Kerala government on Friday, taking the overall toll of COVID-19 infected patients in the state to 40. The state is only behind Maharashtra, where a total of 52 positive cases have been confirmed so far. The Left Front government announced that it is acting on "war-footing" to prevent the further transmission of the disease in the coastal state. Catch all the live updates related to coronavirus outbreak in India and abroad.

Out of the 12 new cases, six were confirmed in Kasargod district, five in Ernakulam and one in Palakkad, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Till Thursday, the state had confirmed 26 cases -- with two among the victims being foreign nationals. No deaths due to COVID-19 has been recorded in Kerala so far.

Update by ANI

The Kerala government on Thursday rolled out a special Rs 20,000 crore package to mitigate the economic impact on scores of citizens. As part of the allocation, two months of welfare pensions would be paid in advance, whereas, Rs 2,000 crore would be pumped into the employment guarantee programme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his special address to the nation on coronavirus on Thursday, referred to the economic impact of coronavirus apart from the critical health issues it pose. To relieve the businesses and sectors hit by COVID-19 outbreak, Modi announced the formation of a special task force headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Modi also called for strict social distancing measures, saying that the disease would continue to spread in the days to come if self-discipline is not adopted. Beginning from March 22, every Sunday would be observed as "janata curfew" or the people's curfew to prevent the transmission of virus. "The only cure to coronavirus so far is taking precautions," the PM said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 08:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).