India

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 309 positive COVID-19 cases, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra.

Pramod Sawant also chided Goans for preferring to eat chicken during the ongoing lockdown, even when transportation of chicken into and within the state was banned on account of bird-flu.

Sources say his wife, who is nine-month pregnant, has also tested positive for the novel coronavirus and has been isolated.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to the chief secretaries clarifying that people and logistics involved in the running of these services will be exempted on the lines of other essential services.

A two-day mega religious programme was planned in Vasai, on outskirts of Mumbai, but the home department denied permission for it after initially giving the go-ahead.

In an audio clip, Saad also appealed to all members of the jamaat to follow the government's instructions and support it in dealing with the crisis.

According to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) director Atul Garg, two fire tenders manned by nine personnel carried out the task.

A number of Islamic luminaries have been quoted saying in media reports that the fight against the novel coronavirus will be weakened if the Tablighi Jamaat incident is used to further propaganda.

The government must immediately shed its inhibitions and timidity and announce that it will fund the battle with Rs 5-6 lakh crore, the Congress leader said on Twitter.

Those who test negative as per antibody tests will have to be quarantined at home, the interim advisory of the ICMR said.

The source of the infection is yet to be ascertained but official sources said the doctor does not have any foreign travel history so far.

Earlier in the day, the Health Ministry said this spike does not represent a "national trend" and was caused primarily due to travel by those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin area.

The Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson said the advance wages may be adjusted against the work to be done by the workers, once MGNREGA sites are opened up.

The 10-year-old finally tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, three days after he was turned away, and now his entire family has also been quarantined at a hospital.

A health official said that the man, who lived in a building constructed under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme, had no history of foreign travel.

The 22-year-old woman, who travelled on the train with 23 others on March 16, tested positive and is Jharkhand's first confirmed case of COVID-19.