Coronavirus Outbreak: 62 Deaths, 2547 Cases In India So Far; Centre Releases Rs 11,092 Crore Under SDRMF- As It Happened

145 more COVID-19 positive cases and 6 deaths (4 in Mumbai, 1 each in Thane and  Amravati) reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours. Total positive cases in the state at 635 and deaths at 32. 52 patients have also recovered/discharged till now: Maharashtra Health Department

Total number of coronavirus positive cases in Rajasthan rises to 179. A total of 46 positive cases were reported today in the state: Rajasthan Health Department

Coronavirus: 43 more test positive in Mumbai, number of cases in city now 278.

National Health Authority has announced its partnership with Uber India to provide transport for India’s frontline healthcare workers engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. 

2G mobile internet services (on post-paid & verified pre-paid sim cards) extended in the Union Territory till April 15th, 2020: Jammu and Kashmir Government

We will continue to take bookings from April 15 onwards as of now. We will take action otherwise if there is any new notification from the Ministry: Vistara Spokesperson 

Punjab: 2 more positive cases were found in Mohali today, both of them had attended Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi. Their contacts are being traced. Total positive cases in the state rise to 53.

National Health Authority has announced its partnership with Uber India to provide transport for India’s frontline healthcare workers engaged in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Madhya Pradesh: 9 people, who were offering prayers at a mosque today in Bhopal, have been arrested by Police for violating the rules under coronavirus lockdown and the imposition of Section 144.

One coronavirus positive case has been reported in Siwan today taking the total number of positive cases in Bihar to 30. The person, a 35-year-old man, had returned from Bahrain on 21st March: Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Bihar health department

Coronavirus doesn’t see your religion. Fight is against pandemic,not against each other.Religious scholars,priests, maulanas etc from every religion need to ensure believers don’t fall for misinfo.We must respect doctors,police&those at frontline of this battle:Ahmed Patel, Congress

Thanks PM Narendra Modi and his government for launching toll-free helpline numbers that would be answered from the Central Control Room in the North Block in New Delhi. Really needs of the hours. 1930 - For all citizens. 1944 - For the North East residents: Manipur CM

Punjab: Mountain ranges of the Himalaya can be seen with naked eyes from Lamba Pind area in Jalandhar as pollution levels come down due to closure of industries & ban on non-essential vehicular movement in the wake of coronavirus lockdown.

I'm giving you the WhatsApp number of Delhi govt - 8800007722. If you want any information regarding coronavirus, send a 'Hello' or 'Hi' or any text on the number, you will get a menu in the reply. You can further operate it on the basis of the menu: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Air India closes bookings till April 30 from today for all domestic and international routes. The national carrier says it is awaiting a decision after April 14. 

Coronavirus cases in Delhi has risen to 386 with two more deaths recorded on Friday. Of these 386 cases, 259 are from Nizamuddin Markaz: Delhi Health Dept

67 new coronavirus positive cases have been reported in Maharashtra on Friday taking the total number of cases to 490. The death toll in the state has risen to 26 after 6 deaths occurred on Friday. So far, 50 people have been discharged.

1225 people, who returned from Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi have been identified, 1033 have been located. Out of these, 738 people have been quarantined and out of them 7 have tested positive for coronavirus till now.

The US Mission supports the Government of India in the fight against COVID-19. Impressive to see the public support for the lockdown and social distancing, with no sign of civil unrest: US Ambassador to India Ken Juster

The US Mission supports the Government of India in the fight against #COVID19. Impressive to see the public support for the lockdown and social distancing, with no sign of civil unrest: US Ambassador to India Ken Juster (file pic) pic.twitter.com/OzszeIQYf1

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

Twelve people including five women and 50 unidentified people have been booked for stone-pelting at police personnel in Mantur area of Hubli today. The women have been taken into custody while police are searching for the others.

Coronavirus death toll rises to nine, positive cases also increase to 95 in Gujarat. While one person is on the ventilator, 10 others have been discharged from the hospital. Maximum 38 cases have been reported in Ahmedabad followed by Surat at 12: State Health Department

67 new coronavirus positive cases have been reported in Maharashtra today. The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 490. The death toll in the state rises to 26 after 6 deaths occurred today. 50 people have been discharged: Maharashtra Health Department

The total number of coronavirus positive cases in India has risen to 2,547 (including 2,322 active cases, 162 cured/discharged and 62 deaths), the ministry said on Friday evening. 

Delhi Government has demanded immediate supply of 1 Lakh PPEs, 50000 COVID-19 testing kits and 200 ventilators, from the central government.

Karnataka: Stones were pelted at policemen when they forbade a group of people not to offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Mantur, Hubli.

Karnataka: Stones were pelted at policemen when they forbade a group of people not to offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Mantur, Hubli. "Some prominent people of the community also urged them to go to their homes but they got agitated," says Police Commissioner R Dilip. pic.twitter.com/Iv9LjrhIfH

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

Punjab Police launches drone surveillance to crack down on black-marketeers amid reports of shortages of essential commodities. Drones have so far been deployed in 34 places across Mohali, Sangrur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Barnala, Jalandhar(Rural), Moga, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib.

Election Commission of India further postpones Rajya Sabha polls in the view of coronavirus pandemic. Fresh dates to be announced later.

The Ministry of Finance today released a total of Rs 17,287.08 crore to different states to enhance their financial resources during COVID-19 crisis. This includes Rs 6,195.08 crore on account of 'revenue deficit grant' under 15th Finance Commission recommendations to 14 States

Odisha reports 3 more COVID-19 cases, taking total number to 9: Official

MHA approves release of Rs 11,092 crores under State Disaster Risk Management Fund to all states. This is advance release of Govt of India share of first installment of SDRMF for 2020-21, to augment funds available with state governments: Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs

3 persons of Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar test positive for COVID-19. Total number of positive cases in the state goes up to 9 now (Cured 2, active 7): Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Odisha

An employee of Electric Supply Branch has detected positive for COVID-19 on 2nd April. All staff of the concerned dept are home quarantined for 14 days from 2nd April: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Bus Public Relations Officer

Positive COVID-19 cases climb to 29 in Bihar, one person has succumbed to the disease: State Health Department

11 CISF jawans posted at Mumbai airport test positive for COVID-19. Total 142 were under quarantine since last few days: CISF

Defence Research and Development Organisation has handed over 2,000 N-95 masks, 100 body protection suits & 400 small hand sanitiser bottles to doctors and nurses in AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia and New Delhi Air Force hospital: Sanjeev Joshi, Technical Advisor to DRDO Chairman

LG Anil Baijal asks Delhi govt to take help of retired doctors, medical students if there is steep rise in COVID-19 cases: Officials

Total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rise to 166 including 29 cases due to Tablighi Jamat event: Rajasthan Health Department

India's oldest COVID-19 survivor, 93-year old man, and his wife discharged from a government hospital in Kottayam after recovery. Kerala govt

A police personnel in Sullia town of Dakshina Kannada district got injured today after unidentified youth pelted stones at him when he stopped them from entering into the state, from Kerala.

Karnataka: A police personnel in Sullia town of Dakshina Kannada district got injured today after unidentified youth pelted stones at him when he stopped them from entering into the state, from Kerala. He was later administered medical aid. pic.twitter.com/2cQfNFMitI

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

Jharkhand govt constitutes a task force under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh to monitor the working of COVID-19 committees on different levels that have been set up to streamline efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.

9 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala today - 7 in Kasaragod and 1 each in Kannur & Thrissur. Out of them, 3 people had attended Tableeghi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin, Delhi. Total number of positive cases in state now stands at 295: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh now stands at 172 including 47 cases due to the Tablighi Jamaat event: UP Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla writes a fresh letter to Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories for effective exemption of agriculture operations from coronavirus lockdown to ensure smooth harvesting and sowing by farmers.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla writes a fresh letter to Chief Secretaries of all States & Union Territories for effective exemption of agriculture operations from #CoronavirusLockdown to ensure smooth harvesting & sowing by farmers. pic.twitter.com/JXWuemoxVj

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

Super Speciality Block at Safdarjung Hospital converted into exclusive COVID-19 management centre: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Ten more persons test positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, number of patients in state rises to 129: officials

Total 189 persons, who have links to the close contacts of those who attended Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi, have been identified and placed under quarantine in Nagpur. 19 people have not been traced yet: Nagpur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.

I'll light a diya in solidarity with people of India. But it was disappointing for me to see the Prime Minister devoting his speech to this only because there is so much more that the nation was expecting from him: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on PM's call to light diya on April 5.

Odisha Government is going to impose complete shutdown in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak for 48 hours from 8 pm today, to prevent community transmission of COVID19: Odisha Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy

5 people have died in Delhi so far due to coronavirus. 4 had died earlier, one death in the last 24 hours. He was also from Markaz. Only 38 cases of local transmission. Situation is still under control in Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking total to 20; all attended congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin: Health Minister

Every family under Antyodaya scheme will get 70 kg ration. Families under Below Poverty Line will get 10 kg ration per person with additional sugar and mustard oil. This month's ration will be doubled&reach every household before April 5: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has said that any decision on extending the curfew beyond April 14 would depend on the prevailing situation in respect to coronavirus lockdown: Chief Minister's Office 

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought that essential medical equipment like personal protective equipment , preventive masks&ventilators etc be exempt from GST.

4 more test positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking total to 20; all attended congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin: Health Minister

Delhi govt has launched WhatsApp helpline - 8800007722 for people to enquire about COVID-19, food shelters, others

75 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Jammu & Kashmir, with 5 cases being reported today out of which 70 are active. Four of the new cases are from Kashmir while one came into light in Jammu: Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary (Planning) Jammu and Kashmir

259 cases of COVID-19 reported from Nizammuddin Markaz, one more person evacuated from Markaz has died due to COVID-19, total number of deaths stands at 5: Kejriwal

91 new cases of coronavirus reported in Delhi in last 24 hours; total number of COVID-19 cases stands at 384: CM Arvind Kejriwal

Till 1st April 2020 Indian Railways has produced total 2,87,704 masks and 25,806 liters of sanitizers. Masks and hand sanitizers are being made available to all staff coming on duty. These are also being ensured for contract labourers: Ministry of Railways

Tamil Nadu: As many as 102 fresh COVID-19 cases reported as total mounts to 411, says state government

Coronavirus cases surge to 51 in Punjab. Five people succumbed to the disease while one was cured/discharged: State Health Department

COVID-19 cases related to Tablighi Jamaat have been reported from 14 states- Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand & UP: Lav Aggarwal: Health ministry official

647 coronavirus positive cases found in last two days are linked to Tablighi Jamaat congregation: Health ministry official

There have been 336 additional cases of COVID-19 since yesterday. Total confirmed cases are 2301 with 56 deaths, says Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry

RBI revises the trading hours for various markets to minimise the risks and to ensure that market participants maintain adequate checks and supervisory controls while optimising thin resources and ensuring safety of personnel.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revises the trading hours for various markets to minimise the risks and to ensure that market participants maintain adequate checks and supervisory controls while optimising thin resources & ensuring safety of personnel, as under - pic.twitter.com/aaNgR2vcRN

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

Supreme Court officials contribute over Rs 1,00,61,989 to PM CARES Fund, to fight the coronavirus pandemic

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state is 161 till now including 21 evacuees from Iran and 24 people who attended the Tableeghi Jamaat event: Rajasthan Health Department

DG Fire Services RK Vishwakarma issues guidelines for sanitisation in the light of Coronavirus Outbreak - No spraying to be done on humans or animals. No spraying to be done inside houses/buildings due to the presence of electrical equipment/wiring there.

Coronavirus: Lok Nayak Hospital and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital (GB Pant Hospital) close their OPD service. Medical emergency services at both the hospitals to continue. The order will come into effect from tomorrow - 4ht April, 2020.

Robots have been deployed at Chennai's Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital to serve food and medicines to COVID-19 positive or possibly infected persons.

Tamil Nadu: Robots have been deployed at Chennai's Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital to serve food and medicines to #COVID19 positive or possibly infected persons. pic.twitter.com/c4hxxOI14r

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

A short video of the Personal Protective Gear by Naval Dockyard Mumbai, in support of the medical warriors fighting COVID19, to minimize exposure to Coronavirus: Indian Navy

A short video of the Personal Protective Gear by Naval Dockyard Mumbai, in support of the medical warriors fighting #COVID19, to minimize exposure to #Coronavirus: Indian Navy pic.twitter.com/kzRm8Yhha4

— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2020

8 more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Haryana, taking the total number of cases to 43 including 13 discharged. Of the 8 new cases, 5 are from Gurugram and 3 from Nuh: State Health Department

Singapore PM says most workplaces, except for essential services and key economic sectors, to be closed for a month starting next Tuesday, reports news agency Reuters.

Drug firm Ajanta Pharma on Friday said it has committed Rs 6 crore to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. From this amount, Rs 2 crore has been directly contributed to PM-CARES Fund, Ajanta Pharma said in a statement. The rest amount of Rs 4 crore is being spent on activities such as providing ventilators, thermal thermometers, sanitizers and protective gears to Maharashtra government, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other agencies and distribution of food grains to migrant labourers and daily wage earners across different locations, it added.

Supreme Court issues notice to the Govt of India on hearing a petition filed by social activists Harsh Mander & Anjali Bharadwaj, seeking immediate direction for payment of basic minimum wages to migrant workers, who were adversely affected by coronavirus lockdown.

Coronavirus deaths mounted with alarming speed in Spain, Italy and New York, the most lethal hot spot in the United States, while the outbreak has thrown 10 million Americans out of work in just two weeks and by Friday had sickened more than a million people around the globe. The public health crisis deepened in New York City, where one funeral home in a hard-hit neighborhood had 185 bodies stacked up more than triple normal capacity. The city has seen at least 1,500 virus deaths.

The stringent National Security Act (NSA) will be slapped on people who attack policeman enforcing the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Friday. The state government's move to invoke the NSA comes in view of reports of several incidents of attack on policemen enforcing the lockdown.

Seven more persons, two of them minors, have tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat, taking the number of infections in the state to 95, said officials on Friday. All the new cases, recorded during the last 24 hours, were reported from Ahmedabad. They included a seven-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, said Jayanti Ravi, Principal Secretary, Health.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding meeting with 40 top sportspersons from various sports via video conferencing, on COVID19 situation in the country.

56 corona deaths in India, 2,301 confirmed cases so far, says Union Health Ministry.  

Global exams like TOEFL and GRE will be taken at home except in mainland China and Iran in view of the COVID-19 situation across the globe, according to the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The tests had been suspended across the globe following coronavirus outbreak.

Hollywood star Tom Cruise on Friday announced that the release of his much-awaited film Top Gun: Maverick has been postponed to December due to coronavirus pandemic. The anticipated Paramount Pictures movie, which was scheduled to debut on June 24, will now release December 23, 2020.

I request all of of you to switch off all the lights of your house on 5th April at 9 PM for 9 minutes, and just light a candle, 'diya',  or mobile's flashlight, to mark our fight against coronavirus: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says in video message

The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution, co-sponsored by 188 nations including India, on COVID-19, calling for intensified international cooperation to defeat the pandemic that is causing severe disruption to societies and economies. The resolution titled Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)' was the first such document on the global pandemic to be adopted by the world organisation.

India's economic growth is likely to slow down to 4 per cent this fiscal on the back of the current global health emergency, Asian Development Bank said in its outlook for financial year 2020-21 on Friday. Growth in India will remain subdued after the country suffered a sharp slowdown last year, from 6.1 per cent in fiscal 2019 to 5 per cent, as a credit crunch that originated in the non-banking financial sector severely hampered bank lending , the Manila-based lender said.

Aid workers are bracing for a possible outbreak of the coronavirus in one of the world's largest refugee camps in Bangladesh, with officials warning that containing the disease among more than 1 million tightly packed Rohingya Muslims will be a daunting task. With about 40,000 people per square kilometer (103,600 per square mile) living in plastic shacks side by side, which is more than 40 times the average density of Bangladesh, the refugees are dangerously exposed to the virus.

Five more COVID-19 cases reported from Rajasthan's Tonk. They all have been linked to previously positive cases from Tablighi Jamaat. 

S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Tata Motors to more vulnerable to non-payment grade 'B' citing weaker-than-expected credit metrics owing to the disruptions and economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The ratings agency which had earlier rated Tata Motors B+ has, however, kept the outlook on the company stable.

Measures to stem the novel coronavirus pandemic have affected the distribution and publication of newspapers across Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, according to local media and officials. In Tunisia, seven daily newspapers and 20 weeklies have been suspended from publication by their owners in recent days, the Tunisian Federation of Newspaper Directors (FTDJ) said.

The World Bank has approved its first funds to help some of the globe's poorer countries combat the coronavirus outbreak. It approved total aid of USD 1.9 billion for 25 countries on Thursday. The largest amount of assistance was USD 1 billion for India followed by USD 200 million for Pakistan, USD 129 million for Sri Lanka, USD 100 million for Afghanistan and USD 83 million for Ethiopia.

US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novel coronavirus for a second time and is "healthy" and not displaying any symptoms for the deadly disease, the White House physician has said.

The US is at a "very critical" phase in its fight against COVID-19, President Donald Trump has said, advising Americans to stay indoors and practise social distancing for the next four weeks to win the war against the rapidly-spreading coronavirus pandemic. More than 305 million out of the total 330 million Americans are staying indoors as the US battles to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus which has infected over 235,000 people and claimed 5,800 lives in the country, the White House has said.

Indian-American politician Nikki Haley has cast doubt on the accuracy of China's official coronavirus figures, terming them "clearly not accurate", amidst reports that the CIA has advised the White House not to trust the data being provided by Beijing. President Donald Trump also told reporters on Wednesday that he did not believe the figures given by China.