Coronavirus live updates: Live: Lockdown helping minimise virus spread, but more tests needed, govt says

Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the United States, federal officials said. The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighbourhoods, the US Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The finding, which comes after positive tests in some tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo, adds to a small number of confirmed cases of the virus in animals worldwide. US authorities say that while it appears some animals can get the virus from people, there's no indication the animals are transmitting it to human beings. “We don't want people to panic. We don't want people to be afraid of pets” or to rush to test them en masse, said Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC official who works on human-animal health connections.

More than 180,000 people in the world have died from the novel coronavirus, nearly two-thirds of them in Europe, since it emerged in China last December, according to an AFP tally based on official sources. In total, 180,289 deaths have been recorded worldwide for 2,596,383 infections, according to the tally at 1740 GMT. There were 112,848 deaths in Europe for 1,263,802 cases on the hardest-hit continent. The United States is the country with the most deaths at 45,153, ahead of Italy with 25,085, Spain 21,717, France 21,340 and Britain with 18,100.

This is not a "blanket permission but will be conditional, and people can avail this only with the prior approval of deputy commissioners": Himanta Biswa Sarma

In these trying times, some businesses may have taken the drastic step of cutting jobs or salaries. While these measures attract a lot of criticism, Santrupt Misra, director - HR, Aditya Birla Group, feels people should not pass value judgements on such matters.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tested negative for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, his aide said, as the number of the COVID-29 cases crossed 10,000 in the country.

Prime Minister Varadkar appreciated the role being played by Indian origin doctors and nurses in fighting the infection in Ireland. Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Varadkar for the care and support being extended to the Indian citizens present in Ireland, and promised to similarly facilitate Irish citizens in India. The two leaders agreed that India and Ireland can leverage their strengths in the pharmaceutical and medical fields to contribute to the global fight against the pandemic.

A day after advising states not to use the newly distributed rapid testing kits to detect coronavirus infection for the next two days, the ICMR issued a protocol reiterating their usage for surveillance purpose while stating that RT-PCR tests must be continued vigorously as the principal diagnostic test for Covid-19.