Coronavirus Live Updates: 1,334 New Cases, 27 Fatalities In 24 Hours, Says Health Ministry

Coronavirus deaths have surged past 150,000 worldwide with nearly a quarter of them in the United States, where President Donald Trump lent his support to protesters rallying against lockdown orders.

Evidence is mounting that social distancing successfully slowed the pandemic after more than half of humanity -- 4.5 billion people -- were confined to their homes.

On Saturday, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 488 in India with the number of cases climbing to 14,792, registering an increase of 36 deaths and 957 cases since Friday evening, according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 12,289 while 2,014 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, it said.

Catch all the live updates here.

6:35PM: Two new COVID-19 related fatalities have been reported in Karnataka, taking the death toll in the state due to the coronavirus infection to 16, the health department said .

5:51PM: A 65-year-old man in Nepal who was staying at a mosque, where 12 Indians were tested positive for COVID-19, has contracted the disease, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the Himalayan nation to 31. 

4:33PM:  No relaxation from April 20 for containment zones in hotspots, says Health Ministry

4:27PM: 3,86,791 tests for coronavirus conducted so far; 37,173 tests done on Saturday, says ICMR.

4:20PM: 1,334 fresh COVID-19 cases reported since Saturday, 27 deaths in last 24 hours, says Health Ministry.

2:00PM: Four new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 388, the Health department said. 

12:36PM: Coronavirus cases increasing due to Tablighi markaz incident; 12 per cent of cases detected across country in Delhi: Kejriwal.

12:24PM: Coronavirus has started spreading in Delhi hence containment zones increasing, but situation under control: Kejriwal.

12:22PM: We have decided to not relax lockdown restrictions in Delhi 'as of now'; will assess the situation again after one week, says Delhi CM. 

12:18PM: Death toll due to COVID-19 rises to 507 in India. The total number of cases climb to 15,712, says Health Ministry.

12:13PM: There have been instances where people without symptoms were found infected by COVID-19: Delhi CM Kejriwal.

12:07PM: 140 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Ahmedabad. The total cases tally in the district crosses 1,000: Health official.

11:44AM: Five more COVID-19 patients have died in Gujarat;. The state death toll has now climbed to 58: Health official.

11:21AM:  Maharashtra Police put up a COVID themed effigy near Shanti Nagar in Nagpur to spread awareness regarding the precautionary measures to be taken amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

11:09AM: Maharashtra | Norms of social distancing goes for a toss, after people gather in huge numbers to buy vegetables in vegetable market in Nagpur today morning. Total number of COVID_19 positive cases in the district stand at 72.

10:46AM: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that the state appears to be past the “plateau” on the coronavirus infection curve and is "starting to descend”, as hospitalisations continue to decline and the daily death toll dropped under 550 for the first time in almost two weeks. 

10:34AM: At least two doctors and six nurses at the Lady Hardinge Medical College here have tested positive for coronavirus, sources said.

10:28AM: One death and 44 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Rajasthan today, taking the tally of coronavirus cases in the state to 1,395, the state Health Department said. 

9:15 AM: According to Worldometer, a website that tracks the COVID-19 cases worldwide, the death tally in India is 521. The number of Coronavirus cases has crossed the 16,000-mark.

9:09 AM: Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province where the global coronavirus pandemic originated last December, has now been classified as a low-risk area as the city has not reported a new COVID-19 case in the last 14 days, authorities said.

8:48 AM: President Donald Trump has said he hopes US Muslims will be held to the same social distancing standards during Ramzan as Christians at Easter, when a number of faithful chafed against coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings.

8:32 AM: A record 45 new Covid-19 positive cases in a day sent alarm bells ringing in Agra. The tally now stands at 241. Each day the graph is rising proving the lockdown is not being implemented effectively, say health activists.

8:20 AM: The COVID-19 pandemic continued to hit Europe, as more deaths were registered on Saturday in the continent, especially in those worst-affected countries. Spain became the second European country to have over 20,000 deaths after Italy, while fatalities in France and Britain passed 19,000 and 15,000 respectively.