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 More than 9,00,000 people have been infected by coronavirus, and nearly 46,000 have died.

Over 1,900 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in India as of Thursday. The country saw 66 deaths, of which Maharashtra accounts for 19.

More than 9,00,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and nearly 46,000 have died since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, according to an AFP tally based on official numbers

The Hindu has brought out a multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information, in addition to covering the developments related to the coronavirus pandemic as it unfolded.

Here are answers from experts on your queries about the virus, a list of State Helpline numbers, and a map of confirmed cases in India.

The new 24/7 national helpline numbers are 1075, 1800-112-545 and 011-23978046.

Email: ncov2019-at-gmail.com.

The Prime Minister has announced a WhatsApp helpdesk number:  9013151515.

Here are the latest updates:

12.10 pm | Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh confirms first case

Arunachal Pradesh has confirmed its first COVID-19 positive case, said the Chief Minister on Twitter on Thursday.

The patient is a 31 year-old non-native who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi.

At present, he is asymptomatic and is kept in isolation, said the CM on Twitter. The patient’s condition is stable, he added.

12 pm | Madhya Pradesh
12 test positive, one dies in Indore

Twelve persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Indore late on April 1, taking the count of reported cases in the city to 75. Besides, a 65-year-old woman from the city succumbed to the illness on April 2, according to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore.

While no new patient has travel history, just one case has had a confirmed contact with an infected person even as health officials scramble to zero in on the source in Indore. On March 31, Indore reported 36 cases, the steepest rise reported in the city as well as the State in a day. Four residents of the city and seven in the State in total have succumbed to the illness so far, while cases in Madhya Pradesh touched 98.
1 held, dozen booked for group namaz in Noida despite lockdown

One man was arrested and around a dozen people booked here for allegedly gathering for a group namaz in violation of lockdown restrictions imposed due to coronavirus, the Noida police said on Thursday.

An FIR was lodged under provisions including those of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Uttar Pradesh Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 after a video surfaced on social media on Wednesday evening purportedly showing the gathering on the terrace of a house for the prayer, the police said.
Not the time to cause chaos by congregating in religious places: A.R. Rahman

Stressing that congregating in religious places will cause “chaos” in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, music maestro A.R. Rahman has urged people to adhere to the advice of the government and self-isolate.

The Oscar winner’s appeal comes after Tabligh-e-Jamaat’s Markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West emerged as an epicentre for spread of COVID-19 in different parts of the country after thousands of people took part in a congregation from March 1 to 15.

In a lengthy statement on Twitter, Rahman on Wednesday asked people to be "kind and thoughtful."
Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty and Rahman’s collaborator on the award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire shared the same sentiments.

”... God is in your hearts not in shrines, you don’t have to congregate now, follow Govt rules, few days of isolation might give you many years of life!” Pookutty tweeted on Thursday.
Three fresh cases reported in Maharashtra

Three new cases of COVID-19 were reported on April 2 from Pune and Buldhana districts, taking Maharashtra’s tally to 338.

Two new cases were reported from Pune and, in a matter of growing concern for authorities, yet another case was reported from Buldhana district in the State’s Amravati division.

With these fresh cases, Pune district’s tally of positive cases stands at 52, while Buldhana’s tally has reached five.
Another death in Rajasthan

An 85-year-old man from Alwar, who had tested COVID-19 positive and was admitted to Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital in Jaipur two days ago, died on Thursday. Cause of death is brain stroke paralysis, according to preliminary analysis.

Nine more COVID-19 cases have been detected in Rajasthan today. Seven of them are from the curfew-bound Ramganj area of Jaipur, and two are from Jodhpur and Jhunjhunu. The Jhunjhunu patient is a member of Tablighi Jamaat cluster.

The tally in Rajasthan is now 111.

World could face a food crisis: UN, WTO

The heads of three global agencies warned on Wednesday of the risk of a worldwide “food shortage” if authorities fail to manage the ongoing COVID-19 crisis properly.

Many governments around the world have put their populations on lockdown causing severe slow-downs in international trade and food supply chains. Panic buying by people going into confinement has already demonstrated the fragility of supply chains as supermarket shelves emptied in many countries.
First UNSC meeting on COVID19 by next week or before: Council President

The UN Security Council is likely to meet for the first time by “next week or before” to discuss the coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 42,000 people globally, according to Dominican Republic Ambassador Jose Singer, the current president of the world body’s top organ.

The Dominican Republic assumed the rotating presidency of the powerful 15-nation council for the month of April, taking the baton from China, a permanent and veto-welding member.

As many as 113 people, most of them Tablighi Jamaat workers, have been traced in Haryana’s Palwal district on Wednesday night, says the CMO

This includes frequent visitors to Nizamuddin Tabligh centre. Thirty-one of them have been kept in an isolation centre at Civil Hospital, and their samples have been taken. The rest have been sent to NGF quarantine centre, added the CMO.
5 held in Odisha for posting false messages on WhatsApp, Facebook

At least five persons, including a woman, have been arrested in Odisha’s Bhadrak district on the charge of posting false messages on different social media platforms to create panic about the COVID-19pandemic.

While two persons were arrested from Bhadrak town police station area for posting false messages on WhatsApp, the woman was arrested from the same locality for posting false messages on Facebook on Wednesday, according to Bhadrak district police.
India sees a sharp spike in infections

India reported three deaths and over 370 new cases on April 1 — the highest-ever single-day increase in its COVID-19 tally.

This brought the total confirmed cases to 1,637 and took the death toll to 38. One hundred and thirty two persons have been cured/discharged from hospitals after recovery, the Union Health Ministry said at its daily press briefing, which was the shortest in a month as questions were restricted to a couple of media outlets.

With one more positive case detected in Bihar on Wednesday, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the State has gone up to 24.
9.25 am | Gujarat

A 52-year-old man infected with coronavirus died in Vadodara.

He and his wife had recently visited Sri Lanka, and had been tested positive for COVID-19. Three other family members have also been infected.

With this, the death toll in Gujarat climbs to seven.
Nearly 1,500 from Karnataka may have attended Tablighi event

About 1,500 people from Karnataka may have attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin West, Delhi, from March 8 to 20. Of these, the State has been able to trace 800 people and 143 of these have been found to be symptomatic.

Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), said that the Centre had sent the list of 1,500 people to the State. “We cannot say if all these have attended the congregation. Some of them may have attended and some may be the contacts of those who have attended. We have been able to trace 800 from the list and samples of 143 symptomatic persons have been sent for tests,” he said.

Punjab reports fifth death

Punjab on Thursday reported its fifth COVID-19 related death, a senior official said.

The 62-year-old patient, who was a former ‘Hazoori Raagi’ at Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar has passed away in the wee hours of Thursday.

K.B.S. Sidhu, Special Chief Secretary, Punjab Disaster Management tweeted the information about the death of patient. The patient was tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and was undergoing treatment in Amritsar.
15 more test positive in Assam, all attended Nizamuddin meet

Fifteen more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam, taking the total number of such cases in the State to 16, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. All the patients had attended a congregation organised by the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West last month, Sarma tweeted.

Assam now has the highest number of cases in the Northeast, followed by Manipur and Mizoram with one case each.
Tablighi Jamaat headquarters cleared

All occupants of the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters, at the centre of an extensive net of the novel coronavirus transmission, were evacuated by early Wednesday, even as the authorities scrambled to identify and quarantine visitors who had returned home to various parts of the country.

At least 29 more occupants tested positive on Wednesday, taking the total in Delhi alone to 53.