Coronavirus LIVE: India stays indoors for Janata Curfew on PM Modi's appeal

Coronavirus latest updates: Globally 300,227 infections reported while death toll rose to 12,948 till Saturday due to Covid-19. Catch Coronavirus LIVE updates here

8:33 PM

PM asks pharma industry to ensure supply of essential items

8:16 PM

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8:12 PM

Finland reports first coronavirus death

8:07 PM

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8:05 PM

Coronavirus: 306 intl travellers quarantined in Mumbai on Sat

8:03 PM

Britain tells shoppers: there is enough food so stop hoarding

Britain on Saturday urged people to act responsibly when they shop for food and stop hoarding so that there was enough for health workers fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

 

"There is more than enough food to go round and our food supply chain is able to expand production to cope with increased demand," Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice told reporters. "Be responsible when you shop and think of others."

 

"Buying more than you need means that others may be left without and it is making life more difficult for those front line workers, such as our doctors and nurses and NHS support staff," Eustice said.

 

Manufacturers have produced around 50% more food than they usually do to cope with soaring demand, Eustice said.

8:02 PM

Greece gets 500,000 masks from China to combat virus

A plane from China carrying 500,000 masks to help Greece combat the coronavirus outbreak landed at Athens International Airport on Saturday.

 

Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias was among those at the airport to receive the load which was donated by the Chinese public electricity company State Grid and Greek electricity supplier Admie, in which the Chinese firm holds a 25 percent stake.

 

The load consisted mainly of FFP2 masks which will be distributed principally to hospitals, airport officials said.

 

Beijing and Athens have been building important commercial relationships for over a decade, especially after the sale of most of the terminals in the port of Piraeus (near Athens) to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco.

8:01 PM

Government launches chatbot on WhatsApp to create awareness about coronavirus, curb misinformation

With fears around coronavirus fuelling rumours and misinformation on social media, the government has launched a chatbot on messaging platform WhatsApp to address user queries around the pandemic, and offer verified information and official advisories to the public.

 

'MyGov Corona Helpdesk' can be accessed by sending a Whatsapp message to +91 9013151515, and is equipped to address various FAQs pertaining to coronavirus such as its symptoms, precautionary measures that need to be undertaken, helpline numbers, affected cases in the region, government advisories (including travel), among others.

 

Sources said the chatbot has been developed and implemented by Jio Haptik Technologies, a conversational AI platform and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

8:00 PM

Surat diamond hub in Guj shut between March 24-31

The world's largest diamond cutting and polishing hub, Surat in Gujarat, will shut down for a week from Tuesday due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and Surat Diamond Association said in a joint statement on Saturday.

 

Diamond cutting and polishing units in other parts of the state like Bhavnagar and Botad will also remain closed, Gujarat regional chairman of GJEPC Dinesh Navadiya said.

 

"The industry has already witnessed $846 million fall in exports in February 2020 compared to the same month last year, and the crisis is deepeningfurther and could get worse than what was witnessed during the 2008 financial recession," he said.

7:59 PM

'Near total' lockdown in 5 Odisha districts, 8 other towns

A day before the nationwide 'Janata curfew', the Odisha government announced on Saturday a "near total" shutdown in five districts and eight other prominent towns for a week to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

 

It will come into effect from Sunday morning, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a video message.

 

The districts that will observe near-total lockdown are Khurda, Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara and Angul, while the towns include Puri, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Rourkela, Bhadrak, Jajpur Road and Jajpur, Patnaik said.

 

These districts and towns were identified as over 3,000 residents have returned to these places from abroad in the past few days.

7:58 PM

Delhi Metro services to be mostly closed on Monday

The Delhi Metro services will mostly be closed, except for few a hours, on Monday as part of precautionary measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Sunday.

 

Services from 8-10 am will be available at a normal frequency as on regular days. During this period, everyone can travel and no identification will be required at the time of entry, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) authorities said.

 

Services from 6 am till 8 am will be available at a frequency of 20 minutes, only for people involved in essential services like hospitals, police, fire department, among others. They will be allowed to enter metro stations on the producing their identification cards to the security personnel, according to the official said.

 

"Services from 10 am to 4 pm will not be available," the official said. "However, all the trains, which started at 10 am from originating stations of all lines, will continue to run till they reach their destination stations," the DMRC official said.

 

Services from 4-8 pm will again be available, but will cease after 8 pm onwards. 

7:57 PM

Goa govt announces several lockdown measures

The Goa government on Saturday announced the shutting of roadside eateries, sealing of state borders for vehicles and stoppage of tourist activities and other steps to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak.

 

The lockdown measures were taken after Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawat held a series of meetings, including one with leaders of all political parties here.

 

"Even though there has not been a single positive case of coronavirus in Goa, considering the critical phase the country is facing, it is necessary to be more vigilant and take all measures required to prevent community transmission of the virus," Sawant said addressing a press conference.

7:56 PM

Africa's cases above 1,000; presidents defy own travel bans

Africa's cases of the coronavirus rose above 1,000 on Saturday while two heads of state appeared to defy their own travel restrictions to attend another president's inauguration.

 

Angola announced its first cases, meaning at least 40 of Africa's 54 countries are now affected. Congo reported its first death; Burkina Faso reported two new ones.

 

Ivory Coast was the latest to announce it was closing its borders. And Ethiopia's electoral authorities discussed the virus' effect on a major national election later this year.

7:38 PM

5-day Delhi Assembly budget session curtailed to single day, budget to be introduced and passed on Monday: Official

7:36 PM

Rajini backs PM's 'Janta curfew', urges people to cooperate