Coronavirus LIVE: New York bans gatherings of more than 500, say reports

Dr Harsh Vardhan: We sent our scientists and equipped lab to Iran to test for coronavirus

He says there has been no lapse in screening.

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan speaking in Lok Sabha on steps being taken to tackle coronavirus

China has passed the peak of the coronavirus epidemic, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

The comments were made by commission spokesperson Mi Feng at a news conference.

6,000 Indians stranded in Iran including 1,100 pilgrims from Maharashtra and J-K and 300 students: S Jaishankar

Medical team being sent to Italy to test Indians; those testing negative will be allowed to travel: S Jaishankar in Lok Sabha.

We will do whatever we must to check spread of coronavirus: External Affairs Minister on visa restrictions imposed by India

229 out of 529 samples of Indians stranded in Iran have tested negative for coronavirus: External Affairs Minister in LS.

He added that the initial focus is on bringing back pilgrims, mostly stranded

in coronavirus-hit Qom in Iran and the government will continue to track welfare of all Indians stranded in that country.

"I visited Srinagar recently and took the initiative to meet the parents of some of the students who are in Iran. Their anxiety at this time is completely understandable. I shared with them in details, the ground situation & sought their understanding.

I assured them that the government would facilitate the earliest possible return of their children and I would like to share with the House that the sampling of these students has begun today.": S Jaishankar

Foreign minister lauds the medical fraternity, Air India staff for their handling of the coronavirus situation

-Group of ministers have decided: All existing visas except official, diplomatic etc stand cancelled: Minister

-All incoming passengers from China, Korea, Iran, Spain, France, South Korea shall be quarantined

-Indians advised to avoid non-essential travel. At this time, travel in itself is not recommended as it only heightens risks.

External Affairs minister S Jaishankar is making a statement in the Lok Sabha. He says, the coronavirus situation is being monitored regularly by a panel of ministers.

Adds, outbreak of coronavirus matter of concern; we need to respond responsibly.

He says where specific interventions are required - as in the case of Wuhan in China, the Diamond Princess crew in Japan or now the pilgrims in Iran, we will take necessary action.

The spread of coronavirus has knocked global growth expectations for 2020 off course with its growth now expected to be at a much slower rate of 1.9 per cent, Moodys Analytics has said in its latest forecast, reports IANS.

In its earlier Global Macro Outlook 2020-21 released this month Moody's had revised baseline growth for economies across the globe downwards in wave of the virus spread between 0.1 to 0.4 percentage.

All national federations, including BCCI, have been asked to follow health ministry's advisory on coronavirus and avoid large gatherings, sports secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya to ANI.

He said, "We have sent the advisory to everyone."

Delhi High Court asks Centre to contact Indian students in Iran, give them assurances, and submit a status report mentioning if any policy has been formulated to evacuate Indians from Iran, in wake of spreading of coronavirus: ANI

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India go up to 73, with 13 more cases being reported, says the ministry of health and family welfare on Thursday. Of the 13, nine are from Maharashtra, two from UP (including a foreigner), one from Delhi and one from Ladakh

The Haryana government on Thursday declared the contagious coronavirus infection an epidemic, reports PTI.

"COVID-19 declared epidemic in Haryana," Health minister Anil Vij said in a tweet.

According to the state Health Department, 44 samples of suspected cases were sent for tests till Wednesday. Out of these, 38 were found negative for coronavirus while reports of six people were awaited.