Coronavirus Highlights: With 1,000 Deaths, Italy Records Most Fatalities In A Day; Global Toll Crosses 25,000

The number of Coronavirus cases worldwide crossed 510,000 with 22,993 deaths. The pandemic has topped 70,000 in the US and killed more than 1000.

In India, the number of cases crossed 700. Eighty-eight cases were reported on Thursday, which is the highest in a single day.

India is under a complete lockdown till April 14, a measure aimed at breaking the chain of transmission of the Coronavirus.

Read All The Latest Updates On Coronavirus Pandemic Here:

10:19PM: Italy records almost 1,000 coronavirus deaths in one-day, which is the record for most deaths in a day. 

9:56PM: Three more coronavirus positive cases were detected in Tamil Nadu, taking the total to nine new patients in a single day.

9:34PM: With three new cases, number of coronavirus patients in Gujarat rises to 47 

8:25PM: Four more have test positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the total cases in the UT to 6. 

8:23PM: Global death toll due to the coronavirus has now crossesd 25,000 globally, with most of the deaths taking place in Europe.  

7:32PM: Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane launched an initiative christened 'Operation Namaste' to extend all possible assistance to the government in containing the spread of coronavius and insulate the 1.3 million strong force from the pandemic.

7:00PM: 

6:40PM: After UK PM Boris Johnson, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he has tested positive for COVID-19.

6:35PM: Total number of coronavirus cases in Jammu & Kashmir climbs to 18; one patient died, other recovered: J-K Govt

6:30PM: Nine more people were found coronavirus positive today in Mumbai.  Five of them 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, says Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

6:15PM: PM Narendra Modi sends best wishes to his UK counterpart Boris Johnson after the latter tests positive for coronavirus.

6:00PM: Five new cases of COVID19 reported in Punjab--Three cases from SBS Nagar, One from Jalandhar and one from SAS Nagar. All five people are contacts of earlier positive cases. Total number of patients tested positive till date are 38, says the state Health Department.

5:46PM: Centre releases Rs 4431 crore to clear pending wages under rural job scheme MGNREGA, say officials.

5:44PM: In Jammu district, movement passes related to the supply of groceries and essential commodities will be routed through Deputy Director of Legal Metrology and passes related to chemists will be routed through Deputy Controller Drugs, according to the Jammu District Deputy Commissioner. 

5:40PM: As of now, there are five hospitals across Army, Navy, and Air Force that can carry out COVID-19 tests. Six additional hospitals are also being equipped with the resources to begin testing: Indian Army officials

5:25PM: Four more positive cases in Kashmir; all from Srinagar district. Two of them have travel history abroad while the other two have travel history outside J&K as part of religious congregation, according to officials.

5:15PM: As many as 10 new COVID-19 cases reported in Telangana on Friday; Total number of cases in the state now reaches 59. 

5:10PM:  Six more persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, taking the number cases to 49, a top official said on Friday. 

4:50PM: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms, the BBC reports.

4:44PM: We have to be alert, follow lockdown and social distancing norms diligently to combat coronavirus: Health ministry.

4:42PM: If even one person does not follow guidelines related to COVID-19, all our efforts will amount to zero says Health Ministry. 

4:40PM: 1.4 lakh companies have allowed employees to work from home to check spread of coronavirus, says Health Ministry. 

4:36PM: Central government will give 3 months' pension in advance to senior citizens, differently-abled, widows. 

4:28PM: The coronavirus death toll in has now hit 4,858 after 769 people died in the last 24 hours. 

3:44PM: SpiceJet has offered services of its aircraft and crew members to the government for any humanitarian mission during the 21-day lockdown and the airline is ready to operate some flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Patna to alleviate the suffering of migrant workers, especially those from Bihar, its CMD Ajay Singh has said.  

3:34PM: The Andhra Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Department has detected one more positive COVID-19 case in the state. One man, from Andhra Pradesh had come into contact with a COVID-19 patient who had returned from England. 

3:30 PM: A 10-month-old baby in Sajipanadu of Dakshina Kannada district has been tested positive for COVID-19, says Sindu B Rupesh, Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka

3:19 PM: Five COVID-19 patients- two from Pune and three from neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad- have been discharged from the civic-run hospitals following their recovery, officials said on Friday.

3:03 PM: In a big relief to farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced that both wholesale and retail shops selling fertilisers and seeds will be allowed to remain open during the 21-day lockdown.

3:02PM: Three more persons – two women in Noida and one man in Greater Noida – tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking total number of cases in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar to 17, officials said.

2:48PM: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has urged private medical practitioners to keep their clinics open to avoid inconvenience to patients during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

1:46PM: MHA asks States to streamline essentials so that students and working women hostel inmates are allowed to stay put in existing facilities.

1:45PM: MHA tells States to ensure hotels, hostels, rented accommodations remain functional and receive essentials amid lockdown to combat coronavirus.

1:40PM: States, UTs have been advised to make vulnerable groups aware of free food grains, other essentials to stop mass exodus, MHA said.

1:35PM: Ministry of Home Affairs issues advisory to States, UTs to prevent the mass exodus of migrant and agricultural labourers, industrial workers, unorganised sector workers. 

1:20PM: Six more people tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 35 in the state, the government said.

1:15PM: A 65 year-old man who had tested positive for Coronavirus passes away in Tumakuru. He had travelled to Delhi by train on March 5 and returned on March 11. All passengers who travelled with him on the train are being traced, says Dr K Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Office, Tumakuru, Karnataka

12:30AM: Sensex plunges over 1,700 points from the day’s high after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das says the projected annual GDP growth was at risk due to COVID-19 pandemic.

12:20AM: Two more test positive for COVID-19 in Bihar, total cases in state rise to 9, according to the state health department.

12:16AM: A five-member doctors' panel, formed to suggest a plan to deal with a huge number of COVID-19 patients, has submitted its report, Kejriwal said.

12:13AM: Delhi govt to serve lunch and dinner to needy people in 325 schools, says Kejriwal.

12:10AM: 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: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

11:30AM: 

11:25AM: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 724 and death toll reached 17 on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There has been 30 new cases reported in the country since Thursday night (8 pm). The number of people who have been cured or discharged stands at 66 while there are 640 active COVID-19 patients in the county.

11:20AM: An offence was registered against a Muslim cleric and 27 others, for allegedly defying the COVID-19 lockdown, by offering prayers at a mosque in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal city, police said.

11:10AM: With five more persons testing positive for coronavirus infection in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the total number of COVID-19 patients in the state went up to 135 on Friday, officials said.

11:00AM: Indian banking system is safe and sound. In recent past coronavirus 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: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

10:37AM: COVID-19 is upon us but it too shall pass, says RBI Governor

10:35AM: RBI has injected Rs.2.8 lakh corre, equivalent to 1.4% of GDP since February, says Guv Shaktikanta Das

10:32AM: Banks may reassess working capital Cycle, won’t be treated as NPA, says RBI Guv

10:31AM: India has locked down economic activity and financial markets are under severe stress. Finance is the lifeline of the economy, keeping it following is the paramount objective of the Reserve Bank of India at this point of time: RBI Governor

10:29AM: All lending institutions allowed to permit a moratorium of 3 months on term loans, says RBI Guv

10:24AM: CRR to be reduced by 100bps to 3% of NTDL beginning March 28th for 1  year, says RBI Governor

10:23AM: Multi-pronged approach adopted to ease Covid19 related liquidity constraints. First Step is Targeted long term Repo Operations 

10:21AM: The need of the hour is to do whatever is necessary to shield the domestic economy from the Coronavirus pandemic: RBI Governor

10:17AM: There is a rising probability that large parts of the world economy will slip into recession. Our outlook for 2019-20 and 2020-21 is in jeopardy: RBI Governor

10:12AM: ‘Tough times never last, only tough people and tough institutions do,' says RBI Governor

10:11AM: Monetary policy committee voted 4:2 majority to cut 75 basis points to 4.4 pc, says Governor Shaktikanta Das

10:10AM: Reverse repo rate cut by 90 basis points to 4%

10:09AM: RBI Governor announces that the Repo rate reduced by 75 basis points. Rate reduced to 4.4 percent. 

10:08AM: Monetary Policy Committee met from March 24 to March 27: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

9:59 AM: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to address media briefly.

9:49 AM: Death toll due to COVID-19 rises to 17 in India; cases soar to 724, says the health ministry.

9:31 AM:  A 60-year-old man, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, has died due to comorbid conditions, an official said on Friday.

9:24 AM: One more positive case reported in Telangana. Total number of positive cases in the state reaches 45. The person is a 45-year-old male, having a travel history to Delhi. Patient is stable and under isolation, said Telangana Health department.

8:38 AM: The total number of Coronavirus positive cases in Pune district is now 32, out of which 5 have been already cured and discharged.

8:32 AM: China reported more than 50 imported cases of the coronavirus on Friday.

7:56 AM: 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.

7:48 AM: Andamans reports the second positive case of COVID-19. He had traveled with the first positive case. Both patients are in hospital and protocols are being followed, said Chetan Sanghi, Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

7:42 AM: All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has urged Muslims to offer Zuhur prayers at home instead of offering Friday prayers at mosques in the view of novel coronavirus outbreak.

7:41 AM: 35 private laboratories across the country have been given the green signal from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct COVID-19 tests.

7:40 AM: Over 180 people with undeclared recent travel histories have been traced and shifted into quarantine in Srinagar, officials said.

7:39 AM: Iran has reported 2,389 more cases of COVID-19 infection, as the total number reached 29,406. The country reported 157 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising its death toll from the virus to 2,234. So far a total of 10,457 patients have recovered since the first cases were detected on February 19.

through the Lieutenant Governor