A 68-year-old woman from Mahe in Puducherry tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday. The woman returned from Umrah in Saudi Arabia a week ago. Puducherry Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao confirmed to TNM that her condition is currently stable. This is Puducherry’s first case of COVID-19.

Mahe MLA Ramachandran said the 68-year-old had a fever - which is one of the symptoms of COVID-19 - and had gone to the Mahe Government Hospital around three days ago. Her test reports, which were sent to Kozhikode Medical College in Kerala, returned positive on Tuesday. Ramachandran also confirmed that she is receiving treatment at the isolation ward of the Mahe Government Hospital.

Mahe is part of Puducherry union territory and borders Kerala’s Kannur district. As of Monday evening, Kerala has 24 positive coronavirus cases. Three new cases were reported in Kerala with one COVID-19 patient in Kasargod and two others in Malappuram.

On Tuesday, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy announced the shutting down of malls, theatres and other spaces where more number of people tend to gather in the union territory. Schools and colleges were also ordered to shut down until March 31. Examinations alone have been exempted from this shut down and will be conducted as per usual.

Puducherry CM Narayanasamy also asked his people to avoid gathering in large numbers. “Gatherings, rallies have been banned until 31 in Puducherry. A good number of weddings take place in Puducherry. A lot of people tend to gather in large numbers. I request families to invite limited number of people,” he said.