Coronavirus Outbreak Updates: Six out of the nine total coronavirus confirmed cases in Bihar have no travel history, the Bihar Health Department said on Friday.

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India saw the highest rise in novel coronavirus cases in a single day on Thursday, even as the Central Government announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore fund aimed mainly at underprivileged sections of the society. The health ministry said that 88 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in the country in a day, taking the total number of infections in India to 694.

So far, 15 coronavirus cases have been reported in Indore, six in Jabalpur, two in Bhopal and Shivpuri and one in Gwalior and Ujjain, a senior health department official said. Ten new cases were found in Indore.

The number of coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh rose to 27 on Thursday. The death toll of COVID patients in the state also increased to two, with a man who had died in Indore on Wednesday testing positive for the disease.

Of the 453 apprehended, 112 are from the north division and 75 from the eastern suburban division, the police officer said. As many as 65 offenders have been arrested from the south suburban and 62 more from the central division, he said.

The arrests were made by the Kolkata Police during Naka-checking and patrolling across the city, he said. A total of 453 people have been arrested by the city police in the last 24 hours till 5 pm on Thursday for violating the Total Safety Restrictions, he said.

Over 450 people have been arrested in the city in the last 24 hours since Wednesday at 5 pm for defying the lockdown order imposed by the West Bengal government to contain the spread of the disease, a senior police officer said.

Curfew has been imposed in one km radius of the person who tested positive in Ramganj area of Jaipur as it is a highly congested area. According to Rajasthan Health Department Additional Chief Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, intense contact tracing has started.

On Thursday, five more people were tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total positive cases in the state to 43, according to Rajasthan Health Department.

"A COVID-19 positive person has died in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. He had other conditions including diseases relating to kidney and blood pressure," said Rajan Nanda, Principal, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital told ANI.

A COVID-19 positive patient, who had comorbid conditions including diseases relating to kidney and blood pressure, has died in Rajasthan's Bhilwara.

As the number of cases worldwide reached a half-million and deaths climbed past 23,000, the damage to people's livelihoods and their well-being from the effort to flatten the rising curve started to come into focus.

The human and economic toll of the lockdowns against the coronavirus mounted Thursday as India struggled to feed the multitudes, Italy shut down most of its industry, and a record-shattering 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in a single week. The US surpassed the official Chinese government numbers to become the country with the most reported infections.

Over 180 people with undeclared recent travel histories have been traced and shifted into quarantine in Srinagar, officials said. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier on Thursday reported 88 new COVID-19 cases, which is the highest in a single day, taking the total countrywide tally to 694.

According to Worldometers, the website that records confirmed cases of infection and deaths globally, the US by Thursday night had 85,088 individuals infected with coronavirus, of which 16,877 were added just in a single day. A week ago, the number of confirmed cases were 8,000. It has dangerously surged 10 times in the span of a week.

The United States surpassed China (81,285) and Italy (80,589) in terms of number of people infected with the novel coronavirus.

Over 16,000 confirmed cases were reported in a single day in the US on Thursday as the total number of COVID-19 patients soared to 85,088, the highest for any country, according to data compiled by Worldometer.

An April resuming of life is "not realistic. The numbers are still going up. That only happens after the numbers have peaked and are going down a lot and getting down to an absolute level," Gates told CNN on Friday.

If you're hoping to return to normal life, work, and social gatherings by April, be prepared to bunker down for a lot longer, warned Bill Gates at the ongoing CNN town hall on the coronavirus pandemic.

The report also noted the novel virus, which originated in China's Wuhan, was 'imported' in the state as almost 66 percent of the cases in the state had an international travel history.

According to an analysis by Times of India , prepared by the state department on the first 122 COVID-19 cases in the state, has found out that almost half of the patients were in the age group of 31-50 years.

Confirming the matter to Dhaka Tribune , Dr Shahriar Sajjad, in-charge of the airport’s medical team, said the equipment included 10,000 testing kits, 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1,000 infrared thermometers.

A second batch of medical equipment, donated by the Chinese government, has arrived in Dhaka from Kunming, to help Bangladesh tackle the COVID-19 pandemic better on Friday.

Venezuela has confirmed the country’s first death from the novel coronavirus, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in comments broadcast over state television.

They left Hooghly on 23 March and reached Burdwan on some vehicle, officials said, adding that hey failed to any transport over there and started walking. They wanted to go ahead with their journey on foot to reach their homes in Saharsa district, but were not allowed and have been moved to a shelter home in Dumka, sub-divisional officer Rakesh Kumar said.

A group of 27 migrant labourers, who work in West Bengal's Hooghly district, walked about 160 km to reach Dumka in Jharkhand on Thursday, failing to get any transport on the way to their homes in Bihar's Saharsa​ district, officials said.

The government of Assam has set up an account for crowdfunding resources to ensure that every step possible was being taken to safeguard the health of people in wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Taking to Twitter, the government shared account details for anyone who wanted to contribute to the fund.

“We are trying to factor the temporary massive shock into our estimate modelling. The magnitude of fluctuation is much bigger than expected,” he said. “The projection will be much bigger, far higher than the 25 million we estimated.”

However Sangheon Lee, director of the ILO’s employment policy department, told Reuters in Geneva on Thursday that the scale of temporary unemployment, lay-offs and the number of unemployment benefit claims were far higher than first expected.

The International Labour Organization, a UN agency, had estimated a week ago that, based on different scenarios for the impact of the pandemic on growth, the global ranks of the jobless would rise by between 5.3 million and 24.7 million.

Global job losses from the coronavirus crisis could far exceed the 25 million estimated just days ago, UN officials said on Thursday, as US jobless claims surged to record levels, starkly showing the scale of the economic disaster.

"Due to novel coronavirus pandemic, Muslims are recommended to offer Zuhur at home instead of praying Jumah at mosques. Don't come out for congregational prayers and stay at home to save lives. It is mandatory upon all to avoid causing harm to their fellow citizens. #NoJumahInMasjid," AIMPLB tweeted. Mukarram Ahmed, Imam Fatehpuri Masjid said it is need of the hour that people offer prayers at their homes and follow the advisory regarding the lockdown.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) urged Muslims to offer Zuhur prayers at home instead of praying Jumah at mosques in the view of novel coronavirus outbreak.

A second positive case of COVID19 has been reported from Andamans and Nicobar Island. According to officials, he had traveled with the first positive case. Both patients are currently undergoing in hospital and protocols being followed, Chetan Sanghi, Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands toLD ANI.

The total number of Coronavirus positive cases in Pune district is now at 32, out of which 5 have been already cured and discharged.

Three COVID-19 patients from Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad in Maharashtra have tested negative in their repeat samples on Friday. They are expected to be discharged today following due process, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar told ANI.

The governor of Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, is set to address a press conference on Friday at 10 am. The RBI chief's addresses comes a day after the central government announced a coronavirus relief package of worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore. The central bank on Friday took to the official Twitter handle to inform about RBI Governor's press briefing.

NPPA chairman Shubhra Singh wrote to chief secretaries of all states and union territories requesting them to instruct district administrations to facilitate Pharma companies and ensure unobstructed movement of raw and packaging material and manpower to accomplish work-related to production, packing and distribution during the lockdown.

The Playwrights Horizons theatre group and SAG-AFTRA executive vice president Rebecca Damon confirmed the news on Thursday. Blum ls survived by his wife and fellow actor Zarish, whose credits include Law & Order, Seinfeld, and Blue Bloods.

Actor Mark Blum, who starred in Desperately Seeking Susan, Crocodile Dundee and the TV series You, has died due to complications from coronavirus. He was 69.

At an India-initiated video-conference of SAARC leaders on 15 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested that health professionals of the member nations could come together to jointly fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

India made the proposal at a video-conference of senior health officials of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries on Thursday.

India has proposed setting up of a common electronic platform for all SAARC nations to share expertise and best practices in jointly combating the novel coronavirus.

Benchmark indices are trading positive in the pre-opening session with Nifty around 8900. At 09:01 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 855.49 points or 2.86 percent at 30802.26, and the Nifty up 257.95 points or 2.99 percent at 8899.40.

Sensex jumped over 1,100 points or 3.25 percent to reclaim 31,000-mark on Friday. The broader Nifty 50 index soared to trade above 9,000 level in the morning session.

At 09:16 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 1,079.02 points or 3.60 percent at 31025.79, and the Nifty up 366.00 points or 4.24 percent at 9007.45, ahead of RBI presser on Friday. About 505 shares have advanced, 62 shares declined, and 34 shares are unchanged.

RBI chief Shaktikanta Das will address media at 10 am, the central bank has tweeted, as economic uncertainty prevails amid nationwide lockdown over coronavirus pandemic. The RBI Governor's address comes a day after the central government announced Rs 1.75-lakh-crore stimulus package to help the poor and migrants tackle the financial difficulties arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The rupee appreciated by 56 paise to 74.60 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking positive opening in domestic equities, as investors awaited positive cues from the Reserve Bank of India to tide through the coronavirus crisis, reports moneycontrol.

Moody's said, at the 2020 estimated growth rate, a sharp fall in incomes in India is likely, further weighing on domestic demand and the pace of recovery in 2021.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday slashed its estimate of India's GDP growth during 2020 calendar year to 2.5 percent from an earlier estimate of 5.3 percent, on account of the rising economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic. This compares to a 5 percent growth in 2019.

The MPC has decided to advance its meeting due on 3 April was decided for 24, 25, 27 March undertook careful evaluation, said the RBI Governor during the presser on Friday.

The RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the RBI repo rate was cut by 75 basis points during a media briefing on Friday. The cut has been made to encourage banks to give more to business rather than deposit it with RBI. We hope to mitigate the negative effect of COVID-19 on the economy with these efforts

Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor on Friday said that if COIV19 case prolongs and the supply chain could get disrupted and it could jeopardise India's growth. "We hope that drop in crude oil prices will help India," he said.

The RBI governor announced that the Repo rate stands at 4.20 percent now vs 5.15 percent earlier. He also said: "We are not giving out inflation and growth projection numbers due to the uncertain conditions."

The RBI governor on Friday said that there was a rising probability that large parts of the world economy could slip into a recession. He noted that tough times were ahead but they don't last, 'only tough institutions do'.

India has locked down economic activity. Keeping finance flowing is the 'paramount objective' of the RBI, while India has locker down economic activity and financial activity is under severe stress, noted the RBI chief.

The RBI on Friday cut LAF by 90 bps to 4 percent. It also announced that the Reverse repo-rate has been reduced by 90 basis points to 4%

The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) has noted that global economic activity has come to a near stand-still as COVID19 related lockdowns and social distancing in affected countries. "Expectations of a shallow recovery in 2020 from 2019's decade low in global growth have been dashed," said the RBI chief.

The RBI chief said that measures will result in total liquidity injection of Rs 3.74 lakh crore to the system.

The RBI decided to reduce the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of all banks by 100 basis points to 3 percent of Net Demand and Time Liabilities with effect from the fortnight beginning 28 March for a period of 1 year.

Offshore Rupee NDF Market has been growing rapidly, noted the RBI. Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) which was required to be introduced from April 1, 2020, is now defer to October, 2020.

He urged people to not panic withdraw their deposits from banks. "Your funds are safe," he said.

The RBI governor assured citizens that the Indian banking system is safe and sound. "In recent past COVID-19 related volatility in stock market has impacted share prices of banks as well resulting in some panic withdrawal of deposits from a few private sector banks." he said.

The RBI has injected liquidity of Rs 2.8 lakh crore via various instruments equal to 1.4 percent of GDP. "Along with today's measures liquidity measures equal to 3.2% of GDP. RBI will take continuous measures to ensure liquidity in the system," said Shaktikanta Das in his address.

The positive coronavirus cases in India jumped to 724. A total of 66 people have been cured of the disease. So far, 17 people have lost their lives due to the virus, according to data from the health ministry.

Two new coronavirus positive cases were reported in Rajashtan's Bhilwara. Both are close relatives of the person who was tested positive and died last evening, due to prevailing comorbid conditions, said officials. The total positive cases rise to 45 in the state, said Rajasthan Health Department.

The district administration ordered all doctors, nurses and other staff of the facility to be quarantined.

According to a health department official, a 38-year-old man from Munger district who died at AIIMS, Patna, last week before his test results confirmed that he was suffering from COVID-19, was first admitted to the private hospital situated in Khemnichak locality of the city which has since been sealed.

A 20-year-old man, who worked as a ward boy at a private hospital where he came into contact with a COVID-19 patient, has tested positive, taking the total number of such cases reported from Bihar to seven, the health department said on Friday.

President Ram Nath Kovind along with the Vice President, interacted with Governors, Lt Governors and Administrators of all States and Union Territories on issues related to COVID-19 on Friday. He lauded the efforts of all health professionals and everyone at the forefront of handling this challenge.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to address people at 12 pm on coronavirus crisis and 21-day-long nationwide lockdown to curb the further spread of the virus on Friday.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said all instruments - conventional and unconventional - are on table to support financial stability and revive growth and noted that Rs 3.74 lakh crore liquidity will be injected into system through various measures announced on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday cut benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent. The central bank also reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of all banks by 100 basis points to 3 per cent with effect from March 28 for 1 year.

The Indian rupee appreciated by 81 paise to 74.35 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on Friday, after the Reserve Bank announced various measures including a 75 basis point cut in repo rate to support the economy amid the coronavirus-induced crisis.

"The Central government is satisfied that the drug 'hydroxychloroquine' is essential to meet the requirements of emergency arising due to pandemic COVID-19 and in the public interest, it is necessary and expedient to regulate and restrict the sale and distribution of the drug and preparation based thereon for preventing their misuse," it said.

The order issued on Thursday said that in public interest, it was necessary and expedient to regulate and restrict the sale and distribution of the drug and preparation based thereon for preventing misuse.

The Union health ministry has restricted the sale and distribution of 'hydroxychloroquine' stating it as an essential drug to meet the requirements of any emergency arising due to COVID-19 pandemic.

"There are a total of 39 Coronavirus positive cases in Delhi today, 29 of them had come from outside and were kept in quarantine and 10 of these are cases of local transmission," said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Delhi government has made arrangements to provide lunch and dinner in 325 schools. "Around 500 people will be provided food in all these schools. So far we were providing food to 20,000 people daily, the number will now increase to around 2,00,000 from today," said Arvind Kejriwal.

"Please visit your local police station with documentation of proof of essential service you provide to obtain a pass," tweeted Navi Mumbai Police.

A day after the Mumbai police initiated dialogue with e-commerce majors for streamlining the delivery of essential commodities at the doorstep of citizens who have been confined to their homes following the nationwide lockdown,​ the Navi Mumbai Police is issuing essential service passes for individuals and vendors who provide essential services.

In a media release, the company said "as corporate citizens we in industry must lend our meaningful support to contain this pandemic. Such challenging circumstances indeed call for extraordinary measures. In line with ITC's credo of 'Nation First – Sab Saath Badhein', that focuses on inclusive and sustainable progress, particularly of vulnerable sections many of whom reside in rural India, ITC has geared its value-chain to lend support to the government in its efforts to fight this threat to the people of India."

This fund will be used to provide relief to most vulnerable section of the society, provide assistance to rural healthcare and even provide protective gear for medical staff.

ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri on Friday announced the conglomerate has set up Rs 150 crore COVID-19 contingency fund for vulnerable sections of society.

Divisional commissioner and deputy commissioner of excise department will monitor the supply of these products, it stated.

In an order issued on Thursday, excise department commissioner Rajesh Bahuguna directed 11 distilleries to manufacture spirit and sanitisers to ensure the availability of these products at government and private hospitals.

The Madhya Pradesh government directed 11 distilleries in the state to manufacture spirit and hand sanitisers to meet the growing demand for these disinfectants during the coronavirus outbreak.

This is a part of the Central Bank's measures to counter the Coronavirus lockdown, which had started off with the RBI governor announcing massive slash of 75 basis points in the key repo rate to 4.4 per cent, to revive economic growth.

The decision, announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das after a Monetary Policy Committee meeting, will bring relief to the middle class who had been demanding a relaxation on EMI payments as a new month approaches.

A moratorium period is a time during the loan term when the borrower is not required to make any repayment. Normally, the repayment begins after the loan is disbursed and the payments have to be made each month. However, the RBI has made a one-time exception in view of the financial distress arising out of the global pandemic coronavirus and the economic havoc wreaked by the lockdown imposed to control its spread.

The RBI said the moratorium will not result in asset classification downgrade and will have no adverse impact on the credit history of the borrowers.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced that banks are permitted to allow a three-month moratorium on payment of instalments of all term loans outstanding on 1 March, 2020.

A: There is no clear evidence yet presented yet, but if you look at the rate at which numbers are increasing in India (see the graph), that must be the case. I have said this earlier as well. As of today, officially we are still in Phase II.

Q: Is there evidence of community transfer of coronavirus in India so far? What stage of the pandemic are we in?

Dr Shahid Jameel, CEO of Wellcome Trust/ DBT India Alliance, in an exclusive interview addressed some of he questions that are on everyone's mind regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"All passengers who travelled with him on the train are being traced," Dr K Rakesh Kumar, Dy Commissioner Office, Tumakuru.

A 65-year-old man who had tested positive for coronavirus passes away in Tumakuru city of Karnataka. He had travelled to Delhi by train on 5 March and returned on 11 March.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to 724, with 17 dead. Globally, the virus has infected 537,000 and 24,119 people have died so far.

Tamil Nadu on Friday reported six new coronavirus cases, taking the state's total tally of confirmed cases to 35.

In the video, Kokrajhar Police staffs can be seen distributing food items and water in Srirampur where a total of 226 people have arrived on Friday from various parts of the country.

The Smart Protection Unit of Assam Police has been exclusively deployed for relief work, facilitating any organisation that wants to help those in need.

This arrangement will be enforced for 2 months initially and will be reviewed later, he said.

"All other patients will be shifted to private nursing homes across Guwahati," he added. He also said that similar steps will be taken in the Assam Medical College (Dibrugarh), Silchar Medical College (Silchar).

Assam's Gauhati Medical College will shut down in 48 hours and will be converted into a dedicated centre to treat coronavirus patients, state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday. Only the gynaecology department (only for delivery cases), and emergency ward will be operational, he said.

Twelve more people (contacts of earlier positive cases) have tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra's Sangli district, ANI reported on Friday. The state has a total of 147 positive cases, the public health department said.

All 620 final year MBBS students in the medical colleges in Assam are summoned back to their college. They will undergo 7-day intensive training to treat COVID-19 patients, he said.

The Assam government has signed 33 MoUs with private nursing homes across Guwahati. The cancer unit in GMC will be functional as usual as it is located away from the main campus.

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that doctors will be working for seven days at a stretch and then will quarantine themselves for 14 days. He added that the state will have five new 300-bedded hospital only for COVID-19.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, speaking about measures for the citizens of the state stranded in other states, said, "I've urged the chief ministers of Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana to arrange food and lodging for citizens of Uttar Pradesh living in their states. We will bear the cost of the arrangements. We've appointed nodal officers to coordinate with governments of 12 states whose people are living in Uttar Pradesh."

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) director general SN Pradhan said that personnel are "getting battle-ready" should its services be required for COVID-19 emergency. "We have prepared 84 small core teams per battalion," he said.

The ministry also said that till now 724 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, total deaths stand at 17. In the last 24 hours, 75 new positive cases and 4 deaths have been reported.

The health ministry, in the daily briefing said, "We have given an order to a PSU to provide 10,000 ventilators. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also been requested to purchase 30,000 additional ventilators in 1-2 months."

Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary of the health ministry, said that around 1.4 lakh companies have asked their employees to work from home on the government's appeal, adding, "President Ramnath Kovind also has interacted with all state Governoers to combat with Covid19 situation through video conference."

"I have developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, that is to say a temperature and a persistent cough. I am working from home and self isolating. But be in doubt that I can continue leading the fight against coronavirus via video conferencing," he said.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson posted a video on Twitter saying that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is self isolating.

"We have issued national telemedicine guidelines. This facilitates the process wherein doctors sitting at their homes can provide services to the patients. We urge & request citizens to take advantage of it & doctors to utilize this," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secy, Union Health Ministry.

He also wrote to the Union Minister of Human Resource to ensure an uninterrupted supply of basic necessities and medical facilities to students staying in hostels & other residential facilities in different parts of India due to the lockdown.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that a "more nuanced and compassionate approach" is required to minimise the adverse effects of the 21-day complete lockdown on the marginalised sections.

Earlier, he had said, "I’m shaking hands continuously. I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know. I continue to shake hands. We already have a fantastic NHS, fantastic testing systems and fantastic surveillance of the spread of the disease … I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual.”

On 3 March, at the unveiling of the UK's action plan against the coronavirus pandemic, reports quoted UK prime minister Boris Johnson as saying that he is constantly shaking hands with people, even with coronavirus patients. On Friday, he became the first prime minister in the world to test positive for the infection.

While the country went into a 21-day complete lockdown two days ago, reports about daily wage workers and migrants stranded without work and sustenance have flooded the media. The Centre and state governments are making efforts to minimise the effect of the lockdown on such marginalised sections.

Telangana chief minister KC Rao said, "All the urban local bodies, municipal bodies and district collectors have been advised to provide all the necessary facilities to the needy, daily wage and contract workers."

The officials also said, "Apart from Maldives, we are ready to dispatch Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to Nepal for assisting them with the current COVID-19 situation. Other assistance as sought by MEA/MoD for other countries will be provided as and when required."

Officials of the Indian Army were quoted by ANI as saying that in addition to the five hospitals across the army, navy, and air force that are carrying out coronavirus tests, six additional hospitals are also being equipped with the resources to begin testing.

Singer Kanika Kapoor has tested positive in her third the novel coronavirus test, the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences hospital was quoted as saying by ANI.

Another case who was admitted in Amritsar found was negative and is cured. The total number of patients tested positive till date are 38.

The statement also said that all the five patients are contacts of earlier positive cases.

Five new cases of novel coronavirus were on Friday reported in Punjab, the state health department said. Three cases are from SBS Nagar district, one from Jalandhar and one from SAS Nagar.

PTI quoted officials as saying that the Centre will clear entire pending wages of Rs 11,499 crore under MGNREGA by 10 April.

Uttar Pradesh principal health secretary Amit Mohan said that out of 49 coornavirus cases in state, 14 people have been discharged. "35 patients admitted in the hospitals are in stable condition. There are eight testing labs while a new lab in Jhansi will start functioning soon," he added.

He also addressed concerns of migrants from other states who are in the National Capital currently.

He said, "Even if there is an increase of 100, 500, or 1000 cases in a single day, we are ready for it. Testing kits, ambulances, and ICU beds have been arranged. We are not saying cases will increase, we are just preparing ourselves for any eventuality."

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the state government is equipped to handle an increase of even a 1,000 coronavirus cases in a day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to his counterpart in the UK Boris Johnson's announcement of testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday. He said, "Prayers for your good health and best wishes in ensuring a healthy United Kingdom."

"His grandson had returned from England on March 12 and was under self-quarantine, the family told civic officials. The 82-year-old developed cough four days ago and on Thursday underwent a CT scan at Saifee hospital. Upon testing, the respult was positive and the doctor was shifted to Hinduja. He passed way Friday night at 12.30 am," the report said.

The Indian Express reported that a Mumbai doctor who tested positive for COVID-19, passed away on Thursday night at the city's Hinduja Hospital.

The BMC on Friday said that nine more cases of coronavirus have been reported in Mumbai. Five have travel history and four are close contacts. Six of them are from Mumbai and three are from other places. The total number of positive cases in the city now stands at 86.

Huge number of people seen walking on foot toward their homes in different districts of Uttar Pradesh, at Ghazipur near Delhi-UP border in absence of transport services due to the lockdown.

The Jammu and Kashmir government also said that the total number of COVID-19 cases in the union territory have risen to 18, with one casualty.

Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, "39 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Kerala. 34 from Kasargod, two from Kannur and one each from Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kollam. This takes the total positive cases in the state to 176, including 12 discharged patients."

Fresh cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Kerala, Telangana, and Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. Telangana chief minister KC Rao said that ten new patients were reported, taking the total cases to 59 in the state.

A fresh case of COVID-19 has been reported in Chandigarh, Manoj Parida, Chandigarh administration advisor said. "Symptoms of Coronavirus was found in the patient 15 days after their arrival from Dubai. Contact tracing underway," he said.

“A hope for the future of all of us in the body of a person over one hundred years old, when the sad chronicles of these weeks mechanically tell us every day of a virus that is raging especially among the elderly. Mr. P. made it. The family brought him home yesterday evening. To teach us that even at 101 years the future is not written," the statement said.

"The man, referred to as "Mr. P" in the statement, was born in 1919 — in the middle of another tragic world pandemic," the report said.

A 101-year-old patient with coronavirus has recovered and been released from the hospital, CNN reported quoting the Rimini deputy mayor.

The fire brigade and the BMC have started spraying disinfectants in Mumbai, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Friday.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Friday spoke to migrants who are stranded in the National Capital. He asked them to stay in the night shelters and said that the state government will take care of everything, AAP tweeted.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a Rs 2,200-crore financial package to assist weaker sections of the society, PTI reported.

Assam excise minister Parmal Suklabaidiya said that as per Assam health department's demand, around five crore bottles of 200 ml hand sanitiser will be supplied by excise factories of the state free of cost. 11 companies have started producing sanitizer in the state.

Four more test positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, total cases in UT rise to 6, PTI reported.

All liquor shops in Madhya Pradesh ave been ordered to shut in the duration of the 21-day complete lockdown over the coronavirus, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. The shut down will start from Saturday.

Singapore on Friday called off the Shangri-La Dialogue for the first time in its history due to the coronavirus outbreak, the top-level forum was scheduled for June, ANI reported.

Seven fresh coronavirus cases were reported in Rajasthan, the state health department said on Friday. The total number of positive cases are now 50 in the state.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was reported filed in the Supreme Court on Friday "seeking food, water, shelter, medical aid and 'urgent indulgence to the plight of migrant workers and their families, including women, kids, elders and divyangs, who are walking on foot to their villages' amid lockdown," News18 reported.

A group of 25 migrant labourers at a bus stop in Nagpur to leave for their hometown in Madhya Pradesh amid #CornaLockdown. A labourer says,"We don't have any work now due to curfew. We're waiting for govt help in transportation as we have kids with us".

Five new coronavirus cases on Friday surfaced in West Bengal, including a 9-month-old girl. Of the five cases, two are children aged 11 and 6 and two are 27-year-old and 45-year-old women, the state health ministry said. They came in contact to a positive case in Delhi who came from UK on 16 March.

"After 10 days of confinement, it is clear that we are only at the beginning of the epidemic wave,” Phillippe said.

The French government on Friday extended the confinement measures in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus, the Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe said. Philippe was quoted by CNN as saying that "government-enforced restrictions on movement will continue to be in place until 15 April".

IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was quoted by Reuters as saying that ‘it is clear’ that the world has ‘entered a recession as bad or worse’ than the global financial crisis over a decade earlier.

People walking on foot in Kalindi Kunj area near Delhi-UP border towards their native places in different districts of Uttar Pradesh due to unavailability of transport services in wake of coronavirus lockdown.

Regional newspapers in Kerala reported that local vegetable vendors have started home delivery services, as a way to adapt to limited business amid the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.

Italy on Friday saw the biggest jump in deaths due to coronavirus with 969 deaths in a day. The total number of deaths are at 9,134 in Italy.

Italy on Friday saw the biggest jump in deaths due to coronavirus with 969 deaths in a day. The total number of deaths are at 9,134 in Italy.

Six out of the nine total coronavirus confirmed cases in Bihar have no travel history, the Bihar Health Department said on Friday.

How can a govt that gives tax break of ₹1.45 lakh crore to corporates, writes off ₹7.78 lakh crore loans of rich cronies not have money for worst affected by lockdown? Where’s the ₹20K crore for PM's residence coming from? More important than lives of lakhs of poor Indians? https://t.co/zEqkLFP5pO

Sitaram Yechury on Friday slammed the Centre over the unprecedented migration that has been started by the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.

"SV stepping up. Apple, Google have launched Covid websites. Facebook, Apple donating millions of masks. Salesforce gathering masks, deploying free software for healthcare. What's alarming is how much we're relying on co's in private sector to lead when federal government is failing us," said Wired reporter Lauren Goode.

Here's my thread on how local vendors in rural areas of Kerala are reinventing themselves in the time of lockdown. Since Home delivery is allowed, even many of the small grocery retailers have started home delivery with the help of whatsapp. (1/n) pic.twitter.com/c6SqTk5FY3

Regional newspapers in Kerala reported that local vegetable vendors have started home delivery services, as a way to adapt to limited business amid the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said, "We've seen people who were hiding in milk tankers while trying to go to their native states getting caught. Many chief ministers have requested me to take care of people from their states. We request people to stay at their place, we will take care of them."

The Supreme Court's Offices of Registery, with certain exceptions, will remain closed till 15 April 2020 as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also quoted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as saying, "No bill is perfect, but we want to make sure that it at least comes near part of the way to being sufficient. ...already working towards a fourth coronavirus response measure. We know that this cannot be our final bill."

The US House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2 trillion "response stimulus package" to fight coronavirus, CNN reported. "The far-reaching legislation stands as the largest emergency aid package in US history. It injects a massive financial boost into a struggling economy with provisions aimed at helping American workers, small businesses and industries grappling with the economic disruption," the report said.

US president Donald Trump said he would sign the bill immediately.

“Today we’ve all acknowledged our nation faces an economic and health emergency of historic proportions,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The House approved the sweeping measure by a voice vote, as strong majorities of both parties lined up behind the most colossal economic relief bill in the nation’s history. It will ship payments of up to $1,200 to millions of Americans, bolster unemployment benefits, offer loans, grants and tax breaks to businesses large and small and flush billions more to states, local governments and the nation’s all but overwhelmed health care system.

Italy on Friday saw the biggest jump in deaths due to coronavirus with 969 deaths in a day. The total number of deaths are at 9,134 in Italy.

Italy on Friday saw the biggest jump in deaths due to coronavirus with 969 deaths in a day. The total number of deaths are at 9,134 in Italy.

Six out of the nine total coronavirus confirmed cases in Bihar have no travel history, the Bihar Health Department said on Friday.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST updates: Six out of the nine total coronavirus confirmed cases in Bihar have no travel history, the Bihar Health Department said on Friday.

IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was quoted by Reuters as saying that ‘it is clear’ that the world has ‘entered a recession as bad or worse’ than the global financial crisis over a decade earlier.

Singapore on Friday called off the Shangri-La Dialogue for the first time in its history due to the coronavirus outbreak, the top-level forum was scheduled for June, ANI reported.

A 65-year old woman died on Friday due to the COVID-19 at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai, the Maharashtra health ministry said. This is the fifth death in the state due to the virus. An 85-year-old doctor, a likely COVID-19 positive case, also died at a private hospital in Mumbai, the statement said.

Assam excise minister Parmal Suklabaidiya said that as per Assam health department's demand, around five crore bottles of 200 ml hand sanitiser will be supplied by excise factories of the state free of cost. 11 companies have started producing sanitizer in the state.

UK health minister Matt Hancock on Friday tested positive for the coronavirus soon after Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a statement saying he had contracted the infection.

"Following medical advice, I was advised to test for coronavirus. I‘ve tested positive. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I’m working from home and self-isolating," Haddock said.

The BMC on Friday said that nine more cases of coronavirus have been reported in Mumbai. Five have travel history and four are close contacts. Six of them are from Mumbai and three are from other places. The total number of positive cases in the city now stands at 86.

PTI quoted officials as saying that the Centre will clear entire pending wages of Rs 11,499 crore under MGNREGA by 10 April.

On 3 March, at the unveiling of the UK's action plan against the coronavirus pandemic, reports quoted UK prime minister Boris Johnson as saying that he is constantly shaking hands with people, even with coronavirus patients. On Friday, he became the first prime minister in the world to test positive for the infection.

Earlier, he had said, "I’m shaking hands continuously. I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know. I continue to shake hands. We already have a fantastic NHS, fantastic testing systems and fantastic surveillance of the spread of the disease … I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual.”

UK prime minister Boris Johnson posted a video on Twitter saying that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is self isolating.

"I have developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, that is to say a temperature and a persistent cough. I am working from home and self isolating. But be in doubt that I can continue leading the fight against coronavirus via video conferencing," he said.

Twelve more people (contacts of earlier positive cases) have tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra's Sangli district, ANI reported on Friday. The state has a total of 147 positive cases, the public health department said.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has told state governments to step up the surveillance of international passengers who reached India before the government banned commercial flights from abroad from landing in the country.

Gauba, the country’s senior-most bureaucrat, said there was a gap in the number of passengers who should have been monitored and the actual number.

"This may seriously jeopardise our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, given that many amongst the people who have tested positive so far in India have a history of international travel,” the Cabinet Secretary said in a letter to all chief secretaries on Thursday.

Tamil Nadu on Friday reported six new coronavirus cases, taking the state's total tally of confirmed cases to 35.

According to Pradip Das, Director of Rajendra Memorial Research Institute here, an ICMR centre, test reports of two staff members of a private hospital in the city, where a coronavirus patient was admitted last week before being shifted to AIIMS-Patna where he died, have been positive.

Besides, another patient admitted to the Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) here hailing from Siwan, has tested positive, he added.

"There are a total of 39 Coronavirus positive cases in Delhi today, 29 of them had come from outside and were kept in quarantine and 10 of these are cases of local transmission," said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal begins his address to people on coronavirus crisis and 21-day-long nationwide lockdown to curb the further spread of the virus on Friday.

The RBI on Friday cut LAF by 90 bps to 4 percent. It also announced that the Reverse repo-rate has been reduced by 90 basis points to 4 percent. India has locked down economic activity. Keeping finance flowing is the 'paramount objective' of the RBI, while India has locker down economic activity and financial activity is under severe stress, noted the RBI chief.

Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor on Friday said that if COIV19 case prolongs and the supply chain could get disrupted and it could jeopardise India's growth. 'We hope that drop in crude oil prices will help India, he said. The RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the RBI repo rate was cut by 75 basis points.

The cut has been made to encourage banks to give more to business rather than deposit it with RBI. We hope to mitigate the negative effect of COVID-19 on the economy with these efforts.

RBI chief Shaktikanta Das will address media at 10 am, the central bank has tweeted, as economic uncertainty prevails amid nationwide lockdown over coronavirus pandemic.

Three COVID-19 patients from Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad in Maharashtra have tested negative in their repeat samples on Friday. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pune district is now at 32, out of which 5 have been already cured and discharged.

According to an analysis by Times of India, prepared by the state department on the first 122 COVID-19 cases in the state, has found out that almost half of the patients were in the age group of 31-50 years.

India saw the highest rise in novel coronavirus cases in a single day on Thursday, even as the Central Government announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore fund aimed mainly at underprivileged sections of the society. A COVID-19 positive patient, who had comorbid conditions including diseases relating to kidney and blood pressure, had died in Rajasthan's Bhilwara early Friday morning.

The fund included free food grain and cooking gas to the poor for three months, and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens — all part of a bid to ease the economic impact of the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

India joins countries — from the US to Singapore — that have pledged spending to contain the economic fallout of the pandemic that has infected almost 5 lakh people globally and left over 21,000 dead.

The health ministry said that 88 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in the country in a day, taking the total number of infections in India to 694.

Modi noted the alarming social and economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic in his remarks at the G20 virtual summit. He added that 90 percent of the COVID-19 cases and 88 percent of deaths were in G20 countries, even as they share 80 percent of world GDP and 60 percent of world population, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

'Don't want anyone to remain hungry': Sitharaman

While over 80 crore poor ration card holders will each get 5 kgs of wheat or rice and one kg of preferred pulses free of cost every month for the next three months, 20.4 crore women having Jan Dhan bank accounts would get one-time cash help of Rs 1,500 spread over three months.

Over 8.3 crore poor women, who were handed out free cooking gas connections since 2016, will get free LPG refills for the next three months, while poor senior citizens, widows and disabled will get ex-gratia cash of Rs 1,000.

The package included advancing the payment of one-third of the Rs 6,000 a year pre-2019 general election cash dole scheme for farmers, government contributions to retirement funds for the next three months of small companies with 90 percent of staff earning less than Rs 15,000, and a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover to healthcare workers.

For rural workers, the daily wage under the MNREGA employment guarantee programme has been increased to Rs 202 from Rs 182, benefiting 5 crore workers of about Rs 2,000 in all.

"The lockdown has been in force (since Wednesday), and therefore, we have come out with a package which will immediately take care of the concerns and welfare of the poor and suffering workers and those who need immediate help," finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a news conference.

The package, she said, is being announced within 36 hours of the 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by the Prime Minister to protect the nation's 130 crore people from the fast-spreading coronavirus.

"We do not want anyone to remain hungry," she added also hinting at more announcements if a need arises.

Responding to the measures, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said:

The Govt announcement today of a financial assistance package, is the first step in the right direction. India owes a debt to its farmers, daily wage earners, labourers, women & the elderly who are bearing the brunt of the ongoing lockdown.#Corona — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 26, 2020

State-wise picture

Four more people, including a doctor couple, tested positive for COVID-19 in Telangana on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 45 in the state, even as the government initiated steps to contain the spread of the virus.

Those tested positive are a 49-year old male resident of Qutbullapur in Medchal district, a 36-year-old doctor and her 41-year-old husband, also a doctor, and a 45-year-old man, resident of Secunderabad, a medical bulletin on COVID-19 said.

It said the four had not travelled to any foreign country, while all the 45 confirmed cases had a history of travel or contact with suspected or confirmed cases.

"There is no evidence of community transmission", it said.

In Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, a 65-year-old man died, becoming the first fatality in the newly formed Union Territory due to coronavirus.

"As we share the sad news of our first #Covid19 fatality, my heart goes out to the family of the deceased. We stand with you and share your grief," Mayor of Srinagar Junaid Azim Mattu tweeted.

Government spokesperson Rohit Kansal also confirmed the death via Twitter.

Two more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan, taking the total number of confirmed cases of the infection to 40 in the state, officials said.

The persons aged 45 years and 35 years have a travel history to West Asia. The former is a resident of Jaipur while the latter belongs to Jhunjhunu.

The state authorities have initiated an extensive contact tracing at both these places to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra has gone up to 124 as two more persons tested coronavirus positive on Thursday, health officials said.

"Both are from Mumbai city. We are finding out if they have any travel history," an official said.

Till Tuesday, 2,988 people were admitted to isolation wards of hospitals since 18 January, while 932 persons were in hospital quarantine for suspected exposure to the virus.

As many as 14,502 people were put under home quarantine, officials said.

Migrants struggle to return home

Hit by a sudden 21-day lockdown and no transport, hundreds of migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are walking for days to reach their homes from the Delhi-NCR region and Gujarat, about 200 to 300 kilometres away.

And some elsewhere tried to make the desperate journey crammed inside container trucks.

Maharashtra Police on Thursday found over 300 migrant workers holed up inside two container trucks meant for carrying essential commodities from Telangana to Rajasthan.

The shocked officials found that the workers, who hailed from Rajasthan, had chosen this clandestine and dangerous mode of travel as they were desperate to return home.

Migrant labourers elsewhere in the country like in Kerala and Karnataka who are yearning to go home in the absence of any work to make living say they have no choice but to stay back and be at the mercy of authorities.

With hundreds of hapless daily-wagers trudging along desolate inter-state highways on the way back to Rajasthan from adjoining states, mainly Gujarat, the Gehlot government is facilitating their return home from the border after screening for any coronavirus infection.

With inputs from agencies