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

and around the world —

More than 1 billion people worldwide told to stay home

Four states in India under curfew

Global emergency efforts ramp up as pandemic deaths soar

Delhi HC, district courts suspend operations till April 4

PM Modi interacts with media heads via video conferencing

लॉकडाउन को अभी भी कई लोग गंभीरता से नहीं ले रहे हैं। कृपया करके अपने आप को बचाएं, अपने परिवार को बचाएं, निर्देशों… https://t.co/1ZjxxQpOPS — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1584938184000

Equity indices plunges as lockdowns escalated

Bolivia sex workers protest coronavirus curfew

Govt to start over 350 'kichdi' centres during coronavirus lockdown period

French health workers get free rail travel, fuel in virus fight

SC expresses satisfaction, says critics also lauding Centre's efforts

More on Covid-19

Delhi shuts, no movement of vehicles between city & NCR

Eligible convicts to be granted special parole to decongest prisons in Delhi

Officially or unofficially, India in lockdown

No ‘indiscriminate testing’, breaking chain is key: Govt

Nation says thanks with ‘taalis & thaalis’

More than 335,000 people affected from coronavirus across the world

Nearly 89% of confirmed Covid-19 patients have recovered in China

Lockdowns not enough to defeat coronavirus: WHO

Over 400 die of coronavirus in US, confirmed infections jump to nearly 34,000

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday evening imposed a partial shutdown in most parts of the country as the death toll from the novel coronavirus reached nine and the number of positive cases touched 468. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the people to strictly adhere to the lockdown advisories. The Union government has asked the states to initiate legal action against the violators.More than one billion people have been asked to stay home in more than 50 countries and territories around the world as governments battle the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, according to an AFP tally on Monday. Some countries such as France, Italy and Argentina have imposed mandatory lockdown measures, while others like Iran and Britain have issued stay-at-home recommendations to stem the spread of the virus.In Puducherry curfew will be imposed starting 9 pm on Monday till till March 31. Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said 144 bans have been issued and more overseas vehicles coming to Puducherry are prohibited. After people continued to flout lockdown restrictions in Maharashtra, CM Uddhav Thackeray announced a statewide curfew. With coronavirus cases spiking to seven, Punjab Governor-cum-Administrator of Chandigarh, V.P. Singh Badnore, on Monday decided to impose indefinite curfew as a precaution in the city, starting midnight. Punjab too announced a statewide curfew on Monday evening.Global emergency efforts to slow the coronavirus pandemic ramped up on Monday with more governments imposing extraordinary lockdowns. From Germany banning even small gatherings, Italy barring travel, New Zealand announcing a new lockdown and Hong Kong shutting its borders to non-residents, the new round of containment efforts highlighted a deepening sense of panic around the world. As of Monday 358,831 were tested positive with over 15,000 deaths.The Delhi High Court Monday suspended its functioning as well as of district courts in the capital till April 4 in view of coronavirus threat. The matters of extreme urgency will have to be mentioned before the registrar or joint registrar telephonically and hearing will take place through video conferencing.Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with media heads through video conferencing and discussed the issue of coronavirus outbreak in the country. In a tweet, PM said ,"Still some people are not taking the lockdown seriously. Please protect yourself and your family and follow the instructions seriously. I request the state governments to enforce the rules and regulations."The government has advised the states to take strict legal action against people not adhering to the lockdown advisories.Equity indices plunged on Monday with the benchmark BSE sensex diving more than 3,500 points as lockdowns escalated to curb the deadly coronavirus spread. Earlier trading was halted for 45 minutes after sensex plunged by around 3,000 points. After resuming trade, the sensex fell over 3,500 points and Nifty below 7,750-levels.A nighttime curfew imposed by the Bolivian president to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Andean country faces opposition from sex workers, who say their already precarious livelihoods are at stake. In a neighborhood of El Alto, an impoverished satellite city of the capital, La Paz, more than 50 licensed establishments have been forced to close after the Bolivian government imposed a daily curfew from about 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. As of Sunday, the country was entering a 14-day lockdown, with most businesses shut.The Jharkhand government on Monday announced starting more than 350 "khichdi" centres across the state to help the needy people during lockdown period till March 31 in view of coronavirus pandemic. The state government is already running 377 "Dal-Bhat" (rice and pulse) centres since its inception after polls in November-December last year.French health workers responding to calls to reinforce overwhelmed hospitals will get free transport on trains, the state authorities said on Monday. Doctors, nurses and aid workers are in short supply in Paris and in other areas suffering the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak, which has now caused 674 deaths in France. Medical workers who can prove they are travelling for work will ride for free, even as rail services were slashed after a nationwide stay-at-home order to curb the outbreak.The Supreme Court on Monday expressed satisfaction over the "very active steps" taken by the central government to deal with coronavirus pandemic and said even critics have appreciated the efforts. "We are satisfied that the government has become very active to deal with the present situation and even the critics are saying that they (government) are doing a good job. This is not politics but facts," a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said.Delhi will be under a complete lockdown from 6am on Monday till the midnight of March 31, as part of strict measures to check the spread of coronavirus, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday. People engaged in non-essential services who are not going out to avail of essential services will not be allowed to travel even in private vehicles, the government said. Delhi’s border with Haryana and UP will be sealed. “People who come out to provide or avail of essential services will be allowed on their self-declaration,” the order said. The government has clarified that no document will be sought from a person who is out to provide or avail of any essential service.Delhi hich court has asked the Delhi government to implement by Monday its proposal to decongest prisons due to COVID-19 outbreak. As per the court's order, eligible convicts will be granted special parole or furlough to decongest prisons, Delhi government told court. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, directed states to set up committee comprising principal secretary, Home, DG prison and chairman, State Legal Services Committee, to take steps for reducing overcrowding in jail.Even as the day-long nationwide “janata curfew” called for by Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew to a close on Sunday evening, much of India came under a lockdown with most state governments extending total public transport shutdown and other restrictions for varying periods to fight the spread of Covid-19.While many governments brought entire states or Union territories under the lockdown, some others ordered that those districts which have reported Covid-19 cases will continue to remain shut. However, essential services like hospitals, telecom, pharmacies, grocery, milk and vegetable shops to remain open.In Mumbai, the administration swung into action immediately after the “janata curfew” with the police virtually imposing a curfew till 5am on Monday. According to the police order, “presence or movement of one or more persons is prohibited” in the limits of Mumbai city. The railways have also announced cancellation of all local trains on Central and Western Railway, while Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in all urban areas.According to the health ministry, at least 82 districts in 23 states of the country were shut by 8pm on Sunday.After expanding its testing policy to all hospitalised patients with pneumonia or severe flu symptoms, the government said its strategy remained adequate and there was no need for “indiscriminate testing” as isolation and breaking the chain of transmission were the key to containing the spread of Covid-19 in India. India’s approach to testing will remain largely focused on symptomatic cases with travel history or those who have come in contact with positive cases. The travel history and home or institutional quarantine list is, however, fairly extensive even as all international arrivals have been suspended till March 31 when the situation will be reviewed.India’s gratitude to its foot soldiers in the fight against the novel coronavirus on Sunday found expression in a choreographed yet chaotic nationwide chorus of clapping, clanging of utensils and conch shells being blown as the “janata curfew” that had started 10 hours earlier entered its final lap. PM Narendra Modi tweeted his approval by tagging a video clip of his mother Heeraben beating a plate in her Gandhinagar house. “With the blessings of crores of mothers like you, the doctors, nurses, medical staff, police personnel, security personnel, sanitation workers and members of the media fighting coronavirus are encouraged,” he wrote.The death toll from the global coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 14,600 people worldwide, and it has sickened more than 335,000. Leaders in the U.S. are hammering out a rescue package that could be worth nearly $2 trillion, while the death toll in Italy soars again.Of the 81,093 cases reported in the country since the beginning of the outbreak in December last year, as many as 72,703 have recovered, while only 5,120 patients remain in hospitals at the moment.Countries can’t simply lock down their societies to defeat coronavirus, the WHO’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan said on Sunday. "What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them," Mike Ryan said.The US has seen a significant spike in coronavirus cases with the total confirmed infections jumping to nearly 34,000 while over 400 fatalities were recorded, even as one in every three Americans has been told to stay home. According to Worldometer, a website which compiles new cases of COVID-19, till Sunday evening at least 33,546 Americans, including Republican Senator from Kentucky Rand Paul, were confirmed infected with coronavirus while the death toll increased to 419.