Here is a look at the latest updates on the outbreak of

and around the world —

India gets 6,50,000 coronavirus testing kits from China

Ensure adequate arrangements for migrant labourers, stranded people: Centre to states, UTs

India's COVID-19 testing ratio not low: ICMR

Those who booked flight tickets during Mar 25-Apr 14 can get refunds: Govt

Europe coronavirus death toll tops 90,000

Curfew in parts of Surat from Thursday midnight

Push testing aggressively: Rahul Gandhi

Over 1,000 cases in national capital are Markaz cases: Delhi health minister

Novel test may quickly, accurately detect novel coronavirus: Study

WHO chief hails India's step to engage in polio surveillance network to fight Covid-19

Pandemic to bring Asia's 2020 growth to halt for first time in 60 years: IMF

'China didn't warn of likely pandemic for 6 critical days'

Lockdown 2.0: Masks made compulsory; no booze, tobacco sale

Covid-19 hotspots marked in 170 districts, 207 more under close watch

US has passed the peak on new coronavirus cases: Trump

NEW DELHI: The death toll due to coronavirus rose to 420 and the number of cases to 12,759 in the country on Thursday, according to the Union health ministry. While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 10,824, as many as 1,515 people have been cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said.Twenty-eight deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the ministry said in its updated data.India on Thursday received 6,50,000 coronavirus testing kits from China even as it ramped up global hunt to procure more medical equipment including from the US, the UK, South Korea and France in view of rising cases of the infection, government sources said.They said large consignments of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits are being bought from a number of countries to meet their increasing demands by several states battling to stem the spread of the infection.The testing kits from China came from three suppliers.States and union territories have been asked to ensure adequate arrangements for safety, shelter and food for migrant labourers and people stranded due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, according to an official communique issued on Thursday.The directive assumes significance as there have been recent instances of migrants unrest in Maharashtra and Gujarat.Besides, there are reports that migrant labourers were facing problems in arranging food and shelter for them and their families due to the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.Refuting allegations that India is not conducting enough COVID-19 tests, the Union health ministry said on Thursday the testing ratio is not low and in a country with such a huge population "not all people belong to vulnerable groups".The chief of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar said for each positive case, the country tests 24 people.The civil aviation ministry on Thursday said the passengers who had booked flight tickets during the first phase of lockdown for travel up to May 3 must get a full refund from the airlines without any cancellation charges if they ask for it.Several passengers have been complaining on social media as domestic airlines have decided not to give refunds in cash for cancelled flights due to the lockdown and instead issue credit for future travel.The coronavirus has killed more than 90,000 people in Europe, over 65 per cent of the overall global death toll, according to an AFP tally Thursday at 1030 GMT from official sources.With a total of 90,180 deaths out of some 1,047,279 infections, Europe is the hardest-hit continent by the pandemic, which has killed a total of 137,499 worldwide. The tallies were collated using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization.The Gujarat government has decided to impose a week-long curfew in five densely populated areas of Surat from Thursday midnight, an official said.These areas fall under the jurisdiction of Salabatpura, Mahidharpura, Lalgate, Athwalines and Kamrunagar police chowky of Limbayat police stations, chief minister's office secretary Ashwani Kumar said.The announcement came after 35 people tested positive for coronavirus in Surat in the last 12 hours.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday criticised the government's policy on tackling novel coronavirus, saying that the imposed lockdown is nothing but a "pause" button that is only going to delay the spread of the virus.The Congress leader said that the lockdown is only going to lock up the disease but to curb the spread of virus, testing needs to be ramped up. "Push testing aggressively and use testing strategically. To assist the states in their fight, use it not to just track patients but to create a map of India to see where the virus is moving," the Congress leader suggested.Rahul Gandhi also hailed the administration at district and state level for effectively tackling the spread of coronavirus. He also warned the government of an impending food shortage crisisDelhi health minister Satyendar Jain said that over 68% of the COVID-19 positive cases in the national capital are of persons who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat event at the Markaz Nizamuddin."In the last 24 hours, with only 17 new cases being reported and two deaths, the total number of cases rises to 1,578 of which, 1,080 cases (68.4 per cent) are Markaz cases," the Delhi health minister said.Out of the 1,578 cases, 867 people have been admitted to hospitals. 29 patients are in intensive care, five patients are currently on the ventilator and 32 patients are dead.Scientists have developed a new test that may detect the novel coronavirus more accurately and quickly, and relieve the pressure on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based tests currently used in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of people have been tested for the novel coronavirus, most using a kit that relies on the PCR, a sensitive method that amplifies SARS-CoV-2 RNA from patient swabs so that tiny amounts of the virus can be detected.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday appreciated India's collaboration with the World Health Organisation in the systematic engagement of polio surveillance network across the country to fight against coronavirus. In a series of tweets, Ghebreyesus said, "Great news: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organisation-South-East Asia initiated a systematic engagement of the WHO's national polio surveillance network, and other field staff, for India's Covid-19 response, tapping into the best practices and resources that helped India win its war against polio."Asia's economy is likely to suffer zero growth this year for the first time in 60 years, the IMF said in a report on the Asia-Pacific region released on Thursday. While Asia is set to fare better than other regions suffering economic contractions, the projection is worse than the 4.7% average growth rates throughout the global financial crisis, and the 1.3% increase during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the IMF said.In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicentre of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began travelling through for Lunar New Year celebrations. President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, January 20. But by that time, more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence, according to internal documents obtained by AP and expert estimates based on retrospective infection data.Wearing of face mask or face cover shall be compulsory in all public spaces and workplaces, sale of liquor and tobacco strictly banned and spitting in public spaces shall be punishable with fine during Covid-19 lockdown 2.0. According to ‘National Directives for Covid-19 Management’ issued by the home ministry as part of revised consolidated guidelines for the extended lockdown, no organisation or manager of public space shall allow a gathering of 5 or more persons and all those in charge of public places, workplaces and transport shall ensure social distancing as per health ministry guidelines.The government has identified 170 districts with Covid-19 hotspots or 'red zone' areas, including in all six metros-Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Other large cities such as Bhopal, Agra, Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad also have hotspots. Besides, 207 districts-where the rate of doubling is currently low but which can be potential hotspots-have been classified as 'non-hotspots' or 'white zones'. Apart from this, there are 'green zone' districts with no new confirmed Covid-19 case in the last 28 days.The US has passed the peak on new coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, adding this has put the country in a very strong position to finalize new guidelines on social distancing.More than 6.3 lakh Americans have tested positive for Covid-19 so far and total fatalities as on Wednesday were nearly 28,000, the highest for any country in the world.