Here are the top developments: 1 India The situation in the country is akin to a "social emergency" and it has necessitated tough decisions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told political leaders on the COVID-19 outbreak as he asserted that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".

The Supreme Court directed that COVID-19 tests in approved government labs or private laboratories should be conducted free of cost and the Centre should immediately issue directions in this regard.

The Union home ministry announced that Rs 3000 crores have been distributed among 2 crore registered construction workers till now.

In a bid to provide further relief to states amid the coronavirus outbreak, the finance ministry has released about Rs 34,000 crore in two phases to states as compensation for their revenue loss in the goods and services tax regime.

Budget carrier IndiGo said it is suspending its international flights till April 30.

In a major boost to supply chain across the country, the railways has for the first time introduced time-tabled parcel trains for nationwide transportation of essential commodities and other goods. 2 States Tamil Nadu: As many as 48 people, including 42 returnees from the Delhi Tablighi Jamaat meet, tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu, taking the total number of cases to 738.

Uttar Pradesh: The state government decided to completely seal off coronavirus hotspots in 15 districts to stop to the spread of the infection, announcing curfew-like restrictions there. The orders came as the state's coronavirus count reached 343 with 11 fresh cases being reported.

Madhya Pradesh: So far, 327 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh with six cases in Bhopal and eight in Khargone coming to light on Tuesday night or Wednesday.

Delhi: The Delhi government said a total of 576 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi so far, out of which 35 patients are in ICU and eight on ventilators.

J&K: Thirty-three people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of cases to 158.

Punjab: Seven persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Punjab. The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 106.

Ladakh: With strict containment measures in place to lock down "red zones", the Union Territory of Ladakh has done well to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as two more persons have recovered from the disease. With this, the number of recovered persons has gone up to 11 in the UT.

Uttarakhand: Two more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, taking the number of confirmed cases in the state to 33.

Kerala: At least 345 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala so far, with nine fresh cases being reported.

Rajasthan: Twenty people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Rajasthan, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 363.

Gujarat: The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 179 with four more people contracting the disease.

Karnataka: A 65-year-old man died of coronavirus in Kalaburagi district, taking the toll to five, while six new positive cases were confirmed in the state, pushing the tally to 181.

West Bengal: Two new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in West Bengal. With this, the tally of active COVID-19 cases in West Bengal stood at 71.

Haryana: A total of 141 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Haryana till now.

Maharashtra: 60 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Maharashtra, with this the total number of coronavirus cases in the state has increased to 1078.

Andhra Pradesh: Fifteen new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Andhra Pradesh since last night, taking the total number of infected to 329. 3 World The worldwide number of fatalities from the novel coronavirus rose to 82,726 on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains clinically stable and is responding to treatment after spending his second night in intensive care at a London hospital with COVID-19.

More than 29 million hydroxychloroquine doses bought by US have come from India, US President Donald Trump said as the number of deaths in the US due to the coronavirus crossed 12,700, with a record 1,900 fatalities in a single day.

Spain recorded a second successive daily rise in coronavirus-related deaths with 757 fatalities, lifting the total toll in Europe's second-hardest-hit country after Italy by 5.5% to 14,555.

Iran on Wednesday reported 121 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing its overall number of fatalities to 3,993.

Tens of thousands of people in Wuhan, the origin point and epicentre for the coronavirus pandemic, travelled out of the sprawling city as China lifted its 76-day lockdown that sealed off around 11 million people in the city.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told floor leaders of opposition and other parties in Parliament that the nationwide lockdown will not be lifted in one go on April 14, according to BJD's Pinaki Misra. PM Modi interacted with the leaders via video conference. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 5,274, while the death toll stood at 149, the Union health ministry said.