9.19 pm: Jharkhand is also ordering a lockdown.

9.18 pm: Two more cases are reported in Noida, taking the total there to eight, says The Indian Express.

9.14 pm: The markets will open as usual tomorrow, says SEBI.

9.03 pm: Bengal has three more cases of coronavirus, PTI reports.

8.58 pm: The Indian Medical Association writes to Modi, appreciating his gesture to motivate people to show their gratitude to healthcare workers.

8.50 pm: Karnataka has six new cases, PTI quotes the health department as saying. Three cases are in Bengaluru, while the other three are in Dharwad, Gowribidanur and Bhatkal.

The cases are:

  • A 64-year-old woman who arrived at Hyderabad from Mecca on March 14, went to Hindupura by train and then her home in Chikballapur district, as well as her son. 
  • A 36 year-old woman who went to Switzerland and France and returned on March 9.
  • A 27-year-old man who went to Germany on March 8 and returned on March 14
  • A 51 year-old man who returned from London on March 13.
  • A 22-year-old man, who arrived from Dubai on March 19 and lives in Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada.

8.46 pm: The Kolkata airport says it will remain open for domestic flights.

8.41 pm: The Centre allows four private labs to undertake coronavirus testing – four in Maharashtra, and one each in Gujarat and Karnataka.

8.27 pm: The Ministry of Health updates its figures to seven deaths and 360 cases in the country.

8.21 pm: The New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says they are “about 10 days away” from huge shortages in medical supplies, CNN reports.

“We’re about 10 days away now from seeing widespread shortages of ventilators, surgical masks, the things necessary to keep a hospital system running,” he says. “We have seen next to nothing from the federal government at this point. We’ve made this plea publicly, privately, letters, phone calls, very – very little has arrived. The military has not been mobilised. The Defense Production Act has not been utilised in any way I can see. Not just for New York City, New York state, for a lot of the country, it feels like we’re on our own at this point. We’re not seeing action from the federal government.”

8.10 pm: Naga women have been forced to spend 24 hours in Gujarat quarantine – despite no travel, no coronavirus symptoms.

Read more here

8.06 pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Punjab rises to 21, according to the state health department, reports ANI. So far, one person has died of the infection in the state.

8 pm: Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Suresh Khanna says Gorakhpur and Meerut medical colleges have been authorised by the Indian Council for Medical Research to conduct tests for coronavirus infections in the state, reports PTI.

7.45 pm: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation clarifies that domestic flights will be allowed to land in Delhi, ANI reports. This comes after the Delhi chief minister said all international and domestic flights would be banned from landing in the Capital.

7.40 pm: Maruti stops production at its Manesar and Gurugram plants.

7.27 pm: International carrier Emirates is suspending all flights because of the virus.

7.25 pm: Here is a list of government laboratories that are undertaking coronavirus tests.

7.24 pm: Spain reports a 30% increase in deaths in the last day, according to AFP. On Sunday, the European nation announced 394 new deaths due to the coronavirus, taking the toll to to 1,720.

7.15 pm: All of Bihar is going on lockdown, reports ANI. This will last till March 31.

7.12 pm: The Supreme Court will use video-conferencing for its hearings from Monday, reports ANI.

6.45 pm: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also on lockdown, reports News18, until further notice. This is reportedly the first time the islands have been cut off from the rest of the world since December 1943.

6.40 pm: Lockdown in nine Karnataka districts including Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mangaluru will begin at midnight tonight and will be on till midnight on April 1.

6.38 pm: Telangana will be on lockdown till March 31, says Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

6.24 pm: All private establishments must remain closed, but employees should be considered to be working so that salaries cannot be cut, says the chief minister.

6.23 pm: Pharmacies will be open, all other shops selling essential goods such as groceries too. Restaurants will be closed, but delivery and takeaway services are allowed, says Kejriwal. Media employees will also be allowed to move for work purposes.

6.19 pm: The lockdown is from 6 am on Monday to midnight on March 31.

6.18 pm: Domestic and international flights will not be allowed to land in Delhi. Metro and inter-state bus services will be suspended.

6.17 pm: DTC buses will ply at 25% of their normal numbers, mostly for those working in essential services. Borders will be sealed, he says.

6.16 pm: Kejriwal says Delhi has 27 cases so far, 21 from abroad. There are six locally transmitted cases in the Capital, he adds.

6.14 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal address the media about the virus.

6 pm: Haryana says the districts on lockdown will be shut down from 9 pm tonight to March 31, reports The Hindu. This includes Gurugram, Sonipat, Panipat, and Faridabad among others.

5.56 pm: Air India says some of its crew members are being ostracised by neighbours for travelling abroad and returning. The national airline says its staff follows the strictest health and sanitation measures. Air India asks law enforcement agencies to ensure that its staff is treated “with courtesy, respect”.

Air India had undertaken flights to China and and other countries to rescue Indians stranded there due to the pandemic.

5.51 pm: Nagaland orders all business establishments to close besides fuel pumps, pharmacies, grocery shops, and other essential services, from midnight tonight. Vehicles carrying people across state borders will also not be allowed to enter from midnight of March 23, ANI reports.

5.48 pm: West Bengal imposes a lockdown in the state from 5 pm on Monday to March 27.

5.45 pm: Fifteen Uttar Pradesh districts, including Lucknow, Varanasi and Kanpur, will be under lockdown from Monday till Wednesday, PTI reports Adityanath as saying.

5.40 pm: Modi tweets his thanks to people who showed their appreciation for service staff and first responders by clapping and banging vessels. “It is the sound of thanks but also the beginning of victory in a long battle,” he says.

5.26 pm: The Union Health Ministry releases the list of 75 districts where lockdown has been imposed.

5.22 pm: Metro services in Lucknow to remain suspended till March 31 to contain the spread of coronavirus, reports PTI.

5.15 pm: Delhi government is giving free meals to people at night shelters across the city to fight coronavirus. “Anyone can walk into these places and have meals,” tweets Arvind Kejriwal. “We don’t want anyone to suffer due to hunger.”

5.10 pm: Maharashtra government issues an advisory to private hospitals asking them to postpone non-emergency services and prepare isolation wards to tackle the coronavirus crisis, reports PTI.

5.08 pm: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in Delhi as a precautionary measure to control the spread of the coronavirus.

5.05 pm: More visuals of citizens clapping at their homes to show their appreciation to those out in the field amid the coronavirus outbreak.

5.03 pm: Videos of people clapping and ringing bells to show their appreciation for medical professionals and sanitation workers.

5 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal will make an important announcement shortly, reports ANI.

4.53 pm: Some groups of people have begun clapping and cheering from their homes. Modi had called for all people to clap or ring bells for five minutes from 5 pm today, as a gesture of appreciation for first responders and those working in essential services.

4.45 pm: The press briefing has ended, but the ministry did not release the list of districts that will go into lockdown.

4.40 pm: We had been telling state governments from January that procurement (of items such as gear) is necessary, says Agarwal.

4.37 pm: “Our major focus has been to break the chain of transmission and promote social distancing. Which stage of transmission we are in is not relevant and that is a mathematical question,” Lav Agarwal says.

Lockdown is the most essential thing, adds Bhargava.

4.35 pm: An ICMR doctor says they are not in a position to say if community transmission of coronavirus is occurring.

4.33 pm: During the ministry press briefing, the Delhi government announces it will impose Section 144, banning the gathering of crowds, from 9 pm tonight.

4.30 pm: We are strictly following WHO guidelines, says Agarwal.

4.28 pm: On being asked about the number of ventilators available, Agarwal says the Centre has ordered 12,000 more ventilators.

4.26 pm: We have seen a huge number of deaths even in developed nations, says Bhargava. We are trying multiple drugs, several anti-viral drugs are available.

4.23 pm: The virus can test positive from two to 14 days after exposure. Only 20% of people will display severe symptoms, while 80% of those affected will have a mild cold and heal, Bhargava says. They would not even know they have it, he adds.

4.20 pm: “Only 5% patients affected by COVID-19 require hospitalisation.”

4.16 pm: People should not do indiscriminate testing. “The only solution is isolation and isolation for those coming from abroad,” Bhargava says. “Please do not test till you have the symptoms.”

4.14 pm: On reports of lack of testing in India, Bhargava says the ICMR has the capacity to do 10,000 tests a day.

4.12 pm: The state government has to take measures so that poor are not affected. Ramp up facilities to manage COVID-19 cases, he says.

4.11 pm: The virus is not present in the air and it can be transmitted through droplets released. Request people to isolate themselves, Bhargava says.

4.10 pm: It is very important to break the chain of transmission of the virus, Indian Council of Medical Research Director-General Balram Bhargava says. Many people have returned from abroad, he adds.

4.07 pm: The situation has changed a bit and we have detected new cases, Agarwal says.

4.06 pm: Social distancing is important, he says.

4.05 pm: Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health ministry, says they are working to break the chain of transmission of the virus.

4.04 pm: A government media briefing is being held. Watch live here.

3.56 pm: A patient has died in Surat, Gujarat, reports ANI. According to the health department, another patient died too, but their COVID-19 test has not been confirmed yet.

3.45 pm: Iran says coronavirus has killed another 129 people, taking the toll to 1,685, reports AP.

3.37 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says the state has entered a very sensitive phase in the coronavirus epidemic, reports ANI. He urges people to take all precautions in the fight against coronavirus.

3.35 pm: The Union Health Ministry confirms 341 coronavirus cases in India, including foreign nationals. However, it is yet to release the state wise breakup of the cases.

3.30 pm: Delhi Metro services to be closed till March 31 to control the spread of coronavirus.

3.27 pm: Thackeray says the percentage of employees working in government offices has been brought down to 5% from 25%. He says only those performing essential duties will be allowed to use public transport till March 31.

3.25 pm: Uddhav Thackeray requests people to continue “janata curfew” till Monday, reports ANI. He also asks industries to pay at least minimum wages to employees during the lockdown period.

3.20 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says he has no option but to invoke Section 144, banning the gathering of large groups, to prevent further spread of the virus, reports ANI. He says the number of cases has increased considerably.

No flights from outside India will be allowed to land in Mumbai, he adds.

3.08 pm: Tamil Nadu has extended its lockdown till Monday morning, reports PTI. The lockdown there will remain until 5 am.

2.47 pm: Seventy-five districts are on a lockdown now, says the Centre. The districts have reported cases of the virus or casualties due to it. Only essential services will be allowed to operate in these districts.

2.40 pm: Four new cases are reported in Gujarat, taking the state’s total coronavirus patients to 18, says Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. Patel says they will disclose the names of the 18 patients so that those who have come in contact with them can also come forward for testing, reports Ahmedabad Mirror.

2.32 pm: Inter-state bus services have been suspended across the country till March 31, says DD News.

2.11 pm: Mahindra Group chairperson Anand Mahindra promises to donate his salary towards fighting coronavirus.

2.07 pm: A 24-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus in Telangana, reports PTI. The total number of cases in the state is now 22. “A 24-year old man, resident of Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, with travel history of arrival from London via Dubai has been found positive for COVID-19,” reads a media bulletin. “He is stable and presently admitted at a designated hospital in Telangana.”

1.49 pm: The aviation minister says a backlog of only 500 passengers, due to coronavirus screening, will be cleared soon, reports PTI.

1.39 pm: Fourteen people have tested positive in Punjab so far, says state Health Minister BS Sidhu.

1.12 pm: No passenger train will run till March 31, says Ministry of Railways. Suburban trains and Kolkata Metro will ply till tonight.

1.05 pm: Afghanistan reports 10 new cases, according to Reuters. Health Minister Ferzoddin Feroz says 97 samples were tested in last 24 hours, 10 of them are positive.

12.53 pm: A 31-year-old man in Greater Noida has tested positive for coronavirus, reports PTI. “The man had returned from Dubai,” says Chief Medical Officer Anurag Bhargava. “He was tested on March 18 and the results came on Saturday evening, which turned out to be positive. He has been admitted at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences.”

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar is now six.

12.50 pm: Banks will be open only for essential services from Monday.

12.47 pm: The Trinamool Congress will not send its MPs to the two Houses after Monday, reports Hindustan Times. “Our chief minister believes that in this hour of crisis, elected lawmakers must extensively tour their constituencies and raise awareness against novel coronavirus (Covid-19),” reads a letter by TMC leaders Sudip Bandopadhyay and Derek O’Brien.

12.43 pm: Television actor Debi Mazar confirms she has tested positive.

View this post on Instagram

I have just tested positive for Covid-19.I AM OK! About a month ago my entire home(husband and two teen daughters) got an odd bug- Low grade fever,headaches,sore throat,body aches,ears ringing and a dry cough.It cleared up quickly.Seasonal I thought?but it felt unusual/different... Two weeks later,March 15th,I woke up with all those same symptoms but super intense body aches,and 102.4 fever.I figured maybe I got the flu or..Corona?😬 I had had cocktails the evening prior,and smoked a few cigarettes. I figured I had jacked my immune system from having a fun night with friends.I called a doctor/friend to ask if I could get the Covid-19 test on 3/16.He said NO,I didn’t meet the criteria.I hadn’t recently traveled out of the country&I hadnt been with someone who had actually tested positive.I found this kind of a CRAZY criteria for a NY’er as I had taken the subway,gone to the theater,the grocery store,the pharmacy,hair salon,etc.I was the Mom who was trying to prepare the home and get supplies&bleach wipes,dry goods.extra food etc. Because we have Italian family in Italy and we follow the news closely,my biggest panic was why were they not closing schools in NYC &forbidding movement outside the home without permission,like China and all of Europe? Prospect Park yesterday,i hear was jumpin’! A friend told me that CityMD/Urgent Care in my neighborhood had test kits,which appealed to me as I wanted to stay away from the hospital. I went on 3/17.First I was tested for the flu-which was negative.Then they tested me for Covid-19. I was sent home and told to quarantine myself until I had results,which would take 3-7 days(in S.Korea it takes two hours) Well..today is day 5 and I just found out.Im hoping I’ve been through the worst of it already.Its very “morphy”.One day I feel crappy and the next I’m normal.Today my lungs are heavy,but I’m tough. I can breath,and I’m going to heal here,in my own home!My family is under quarantine for 14 days.They have no symptoms.I think we all had it possibly already?Who knows. Anyhow,stay home people!Protect yourselves&your loved ones.Build up your immune systems.Good Luck&God Bless us all! #alonetogether #physicaldistancing #stayhome

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12.41 pm: Delhi policeman offer flowers to commuters, urge them to stay home.

12.38 pm: The anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh continues with only five women turning up today.

12.18 pm: A traveller from Spain tests positive in Tamil Nadu. “The patient is undergoing treatment in isolation,” state Health Minister C Vijayabaskar tells ANI.

12.11 pm: The 38-year-old man who died in Patna had a travel history to Qatar, reports ANI.

12.08 pm: A 38-year-old man, who tested positive for the virus, died in Bihar due to kidney failure, Dr. Prabhat Kumar Singh, the director of AIIMS in Patna, tells ANI. He had come from Kolkata two days ago.

12.05 pm: A 63-year-old patient, who had tested positive for coronavirus, succumbed in Mumbai on Saturday night, reports PTI. The patient had a chronic history of diabetes, high blood pressure and ischemic heart disease. With this, the toll in Maharashtra rises to two as confirmed by the Union health ministry.

12.01 pm: The Indian Council of Medical Research says 341 people have tested positive for coronavirus in India so far.

11.30 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the response to his call of a ‘janata curfew’ is emphatic.

11.10 am: The 263 Indian students, evacuated from Rome on Sunday by a special Air India flight, are being taken to ITBP Chhawla Quarantine Facility, after thermal screening and immigration at the airport, reports ANI.

11.05 am: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a complete lockdown in the state, reports ANI, citing an unidentified senior Public Relations official of the state government. The Union health ministry has confirmed 13 cases of the virus in Punjab, and a 72-year-old man from the state became the fourth person to die in the country. The man returned from Germany via Italy a few weeks ago.

Also read:

Coronavirus: Toll in India rises to four as 72-year-old man dies in Punjab

10.58 am: In Maharashtra, coronavirus cases rise to 74 after 10 more cases are reported since Saturday evening, reports PTI, citing an unidentified state official.

10.49 am: US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife have tested negative for coronavirus, tweets Katie Miller, the vice president’s press secretary.

10.34 am: Number of coronavirus cases in India rises to 324, says Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

10.15 am: The 263 Indian students who came from Rome will be taken to ITBP Chhawla quarantine facility in Delhi after thermal screening and immigration at the airport, reports ANI.

10.05 am: Baahubali actor Prabhas says he is in self-quarantine as he has returned from Georgia. “On safely returning from my shoot abroad, in light of increasing risks of COVID-19, I have decided to self-quarantine,” he tweets. “Hope you all are also taking the necessary precautions to be safe.”

9.58 am: In Karnataka, a 33-year-old man with recent foreign travel history has tested positive for coronavirus, reports ANI. “At least 3 km area around Hosayellapur where this infected person was living has been quarantined,” Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan tells ANI.

9.51 am: Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath says social distancing is the best way to defeat the pandemic and prevent its spread. “[The] state government has taken all essential measures to fight COVID-19,” he tells ANI.

9.50 am: The special Air India flight carrying 263 Indian students that took off from Rome has landed at Delhi airport, reports ANI.

9.38 am: Shillong observes ‘janata curfew’.

9.33 am: There is one isolation bed per 84,000 Indians, and one quarantine bed per 36,000 Indians, show data collected by the Union health ministry till March 17, according to The Indian Express. Further, there is only one doctor per 11,600 Indians, and one hospital bed per 1,826 Indians.

9.30 am: China reports its first domestic coronavirus case – in Guangzhou – after three days. Epicentre Wuhan, however, has not reported a new coronavirus case for the fourth consecutive day, reports PTI. There is a surge in imported infections with 45 new cases. Six deaths were reported from China, including five from Hubei Province, taking the toll in the country to 3,261.

9.25 am: Visuals from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Ranchi in Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda.

9.24 am: Department of Public Relations in Chandigarh has said one person, a secondary contact of the city’s first confirmed case, has tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of cases rises to six in Chandigarh. Health condition of all the patients is stable, reports ANI.

9.22 am: Train services stand suspended in West Bengal, reports The Indian Express.

8.54 am: Many Indians will take to their balconies at 5 pm to clap, bang utensils or ring bells to express their gratitude to those providing essential services, particularly medical professionals, during the coronavirus crisis. This is an attempt to emulate organic rounds of daily applause that have broken out in several European cities under lockdown with the same intention. However, those on the front lines of this challenge take to social media demanding much more than just applause.

Also read

Not just clapping: Indian medical professionals take to Twitter to demand resources, equipment

8.50 am: Visuals from Dadar railway station.

8.47 am: Railways has cancelled all passenger trains till 10 pm today, reports ANI.

8.43 am: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warns of lockdowns after crowds ignore social distancing advice and gather on Sydney’s beaches, reports BBC.

8.32 am: The British government identifies and advises at least 1.5 million “risky” people to stay at home for the next 12 weeks, reports AFP. “People should stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives,” says communities secretary Robert Jenrick.

7.57 am: Italy has reported 793 deaths due to coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The toll in the country is 4,825, according to the country’s Civil Protection Agency, CNN reports.

7.30 am: Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says the four-year-old child suspected of being COVID-19 positive has tested negative. There is no confirmed coronavirus case in Assam so far. The child was tested in Jorhat Medical College and Regional Medical Research Center, Dibrugarh.

7.25 am: “Janata curfew” under way in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

7.20 am: “There is a restriction on a large gathering of people,” Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore George Anthony Swamy tells ANI. “So, we are organising the praying session via YouTube so they don’t need to come to the church for the holy mass.

7.15 am: Visuals of empty streets as states follow “janata curfew”

7.10 am: Rajasthan has initiated orders for a complete lockdown till March 31. “Essential services will function under this lockdown, but all state and private offices, malls, shops, factories and public transport will be closed,” Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, according to NDTV. “To cope with this global epidemic, it is very important for people to stay in their homes.”

7.05 am: A 24-year-old man has tested positive for coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, reports PTI. This is the first confirmation from the state. The man came from Paris to Delhi on March 15 and then travelled to Hyderabad and Vijayawada on March 17.

7 am: Ahead of the “janata curfew”, Modi tweets: “In a few minutes from now, the Janta Curfew commences. Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against COVID-19 menace. The steps we take now will help in the times to come. Stay indoors and stay healthy.”

Here is what happened on Saturday:

  • India confirmed 110 new cases in two days – 47 on Saturday and 63 on Friday. However, the Centre refuted any speculation over community transmission and said the public would be informed when it happens. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state.
  • The central government capped the maximum retail price of hand sanitisers at Rs 100 per 200 ml bottle till June 30. The price of a two-ply surgical mask was capped at Rs 8 and that of a three-ply surgical mask at Rs 10.
  • The Indian Railways decided to relax refund rules for passengers who have booked their tickets for travel between March 21 and April 15.
  • Delhi banned gatherings of over five people, and said that if five or more people do gather at a particular place, they should maintain a distance of one metre from each other. A series of measures to provide relief to the poor were also announced. The Delhi Metro will run staggered services on Monday.
  • Some people were seriously injured during clashes in Dum Dum prison in Kolkata on Saturday. Prisoners allegedly attacked officials, protesting that they were neither being produced in court, nor allowed to meet family amid coronavirus outbreak.