Coronavirus latest updates: Expert predictions on Covid horrendous, frightening, says Punjab CM

NEW DELHI: India reported 750 new coronavirus cases in a day for the first time as the total number of cases jumped to 5,865. Across the world, the situation remained grim as the death toll from the virus crossed 94,000. The United States with 1,783 deaths in the last 24 hours was the worst affected country with 16,478 deaths.
Here is a look at the latest updates on the outbreak of coronavirus in India and around the world —
Expert predictions on Covid horrendous, frightening; lockdown should go on: Punjab CM
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says he feels lockdown should go on and state cabinet will decide today on extension.Singh added that predictions by experts about spread of virus are horrendous and frightening.
However, the chief minister said that the state may allow district-wise relief from lockdown only for farmers to harvest rabi crop. Punjab is expecting a bumper crop of 185 lakh tonnes of wheat and is making adequate arrangements for harvest, he added.
India can meet both global and domestic HCQ demand: Ipca
Ipca Labs has said there is a large supply of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), the much-touted drug being used for treating certain Covid-19 patients, with the capacity in India built for global markets besides meeting the country’s demand. The Mumbaibased pharmaceutical company is one of the two largest manufacturers of HCQ.
46 new positive cases in Gujarat, 26 in Rajasthan
A total of 46 new positive cases were reported from Gujarat in the past 12 hours, taking the state's tally to 308 cases. The city-wise breakup of the 46 cases reported is as follows — Ahmedabad 11, Vadodara 17, Patan 2, Rajkot 5, Kutch 2, Bharuch 4, Gandhinagar 1, Bhavnagar 4. In Rajasthan, 26 more Covid-19 positive cases were reported, taking total cases in the state to 489. Twenty-five of the new positive cases have contact history, while details of 1 case are being ascertained.
Ramping up testing in UP can be lifesaver: Priyanka to Yogi
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has written a letter to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, where she called for steps that could win over the confidence of everyone by creating a fear-free atmosphere, while keeping aside political ideology, to ensure that people come up voluntarily for testing.
Stressing on the need for ramping up testing facilities, she said for a state with such a big population "increasing testing can prove to be a lifesaver".
ADB assures $2.2 bn support package to India for Covid-19 response
Asian Development Bank has assured finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman of $2.2 billion (about Rs 16,500 crore) support to India in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. "We are now preparing $2.2 billion in immediate assistance to the health sector and to help alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic on the poor; informal workers; micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises; and the financial sector," ADB said.
'World faces its gravest test': UN Secy General urges Security Council to face pandemic with solidarity
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that the world faces its gravest test from the coronavirus pandemic that poses a significant threat to the maintenance of international peace and security. The Secretary-General said the pandemic could potentially lead "to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to fight the disease."
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The US records 1,783 virus deaths in the past 24 hours: Johns Hopkins
The United States recorded 1,783 deaths related to the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The number of fatalities was lower than the previous day's record toll of 1,973.
The total number of US fatalities linked to the virus now stands at 16,478, the second-highest tally in the world after Italy. Across the world, more than 90,000 people have died of the infection.
Coronavirus outbreak: Complete coverage
At 3.8 cases per mn, India’s rate of infection still fairly low: Minister
“I can state with utmost confidence that in terms of data or statistics on Covid-19, India is much better placed than any other country,” the minister said while addressing an international online conference on Covid-19 organised by Bennett University. He added that India has reported a fairly low rate of infection at 3.8 cases per million, compared to much higher percentages in most other countries.
At present, cases are doubling every 4.5 days, and a majority of the districts in the country are unaffected, Vardhan said.

Overall numbers up, but rate of positive cases stable: ICMR
In a reassuring indicator of India’s fight against Covid-19, the rate of positive cases has ranged between 3-5% of the total of 1,30,000 samples tested so far over one and a half months without any substantial increase, the Indian Council of Medical Research said. The positive rate will come across as more convincing with the government significantly ramping up testing in the last 10 days following the identification of hotspots and high-risk zones and those tested including patients with serious flu or respiratory conditions.

Global virus death toll passes 94,000, but some signs of hope
Another horror day of the coronavirus pandemic saw the global death toll pass 94,000, although there were tentative signs of hope that the crisis was peaking in the United States and Europe.
The picture of the unfolding economic catastrophe also became clearer with the IMF warning of a Great Depression and data showing 17 million Americans lost their jobs. Another 1,700 people died in the United States on Thursday, while there were hundreds more deaths across Europe, driving the confirmed global toll above 94,000.
New cases in India top 750 in a day for 1st time, deaths up by 31
India’s Covid-19 count rose sharply on Thursday with states confirming 781 new cases – by far the highest single-day tally so far and 30% more than the previous highest of 598 recorded on Wednesday, as per confirmed reports collated by TOI from states. Maharashtra led the surge with 229 fresh cases —the first time any state has reported more than 150 new cases — followed by Tamil Nadu (96), Rajasthan (80), Gujarat (76) and Delhi (51).
Odisha 1st to extend lockdown till April 30
Odisha on Thursday became the first state to extend the ongoing 21-day lockdown by another fortnight till April 30, with CM Naveen Patnaik saying that his cabinet took the hard decision without waiting for the Centre to make a move because saving lives should take precedence over everything else.

IMF warns of worst fallout since the Great Depression
Global growth will turn sharply negative in 2020, and the International Monetary Fund anticipates the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression, its MD Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday as she unveiled a four-point plan to aid recovery. "Just three months ago, we expected positive per capita income growth in over 160 of our member countries in 2020. Today, that number has been turned on its head: We now project that over 170 countries will experience negative per capita income growth this year. The bleak outlook applies to advanced and developing economies alike. This crisis knows no boundaries. Everybody hurts," Georgieva said in her speech ahead of the annual meeting.
16.8m Have Sought US Jobless Aid Since Outbreak
Country Facing Worst Jobless Rate Since Great Depression
Unemployment in America following the coronavirus outbreak soared past 10% on Thursday with 6.6 million new claims filed during the week, topping the 6 million from the previous week and the 3.3 million the week before. The staggering jobless numbers came even as President Trump and his team grappled with restarting the economy amid signs that the pandemic is tailing off due to mitigation efforts.