Following are the top stories at 13:30 Hours:

Following are the top stories at 13:30 Hours:

NATION

DEL17 VIRUS-ADVISORY-MASKS

COVID-19: Govt issues advisory asking people to wear 'homemade face covers'

New Delhi: As India witnesses a spike in coronavirus cases, the Central government on Saturday issued an advisory asking people to wear "homemade face covers" particularly when they step out of their houses in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

DEL3 MHA-JK

Govt reserves jobs in J&K for domiciles; amends Apr 1 order after angry reax

New Delhi, Apr 4: The Central government has amended its two-day-old order and reserved all jobs in Jammu and Kashmir for the domiciles of the Union territory -- people who have stayed there for at least 15 years.

 

DEL9 VIRUS-RAIL-RESTORE

Rly issues 'restoration plan' to zones, asks to prepare for resumption of services from Apr 15

New Delhi: Railways has begun preparing to resume all its services from April 15 after a 21-day suspension of its passenger trains in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

DEL7 VIRUS-CASES

Country's COVID-19 death toll rises to 68, number of cases to 2,902

New Delhi:The number of COVID-19 cases in the country climbed to 2,902 on Saturday while the death toll rose to 68, according to the Union Health Ministry.

BUSINESS

DEL18 BIZ-VIRUS-POWER BLACKOUT-UTILITIES

State power utilities gear up for blackout on Sunday

New Delhi: State load dispatch centres and transmission utilities are gearing up to deal with the possibility of any adverse impact on the electricity grid on Sunday following the Prime Minister's blackout appeal.

DEL13 BIZ-VIRUS-DIAGNOSTIC KITS-EXPORT

Govt puts curbs on exports of diagnostic kits with immediate effect

New Delhi: The government on Saturday put curbs on exports of diagnostic kits with a view to discourage shipments amid the coronavirus outbreak.

FOREIGN

FGN24 VIRUS-US-NY-DEATHS

New York State records highest number of deaths in single day from COVID-19

New York: The New York State reported its highest number of 562 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, with a person dying almost every two-and-a-half minutes, as Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed redistribution of ventilators and protective gear to hospitals with greater need. By Yoshita Singh

FGN28 VIRUS-PAK-US-FLIGHT

US evacuates stranded citizens as Pak relaxes ban on intl flights

Islamabad: Pakistan relaxed its ban on international flights to let a US chartered plane to land and evacuate 294 American citizens, including nine diplomats, amid the coronavirus pandemic. By Sajjad Hussain

FGN27 VIRUS-PAK

Pakistan records 2,700 coronavirus cases; Punjab crosses 1,000-mark

Islamabad: Pakistan's coronavirus cases rose to 2,708 on Saturday with the number of patients in the Punjab province, which accounts for more than half of the country's total population, crossing the 1,000-mark. By Sajjad Hussain .