Coronavirus Updates: Nearly 700 Infected In India, 16 Dead; RBI Chief To Address Media Today At 10 am

Nearly 700 people have tested positive for the coronavirus infection across the country, with 88 people cases being reported yesterday. The total is now 694 -- including 47 foreigners, 42 people who have been cured or discharged. The virus infection has resulted in the death of 16 people so far.

On Thursday, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs1.7 lakh crore package to help the economically weaker sections survive the loss of jobs and income that would be the inevitable fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. "No one will go hungry," she assured, adding that "other concerns" would be "considered separately".

More than a billion people have shut themselves after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. Lines of people wearing masks formed outside small neighbourhood shops in Delhi and Mumbai, among other cities.Trucks were stranded at state borders and public transport was cancelled.

The WHO has praised India's efforts to contain the coronavirus. Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergencies expert, told a Geneva news conference that with the lockdown in place, India had a window of opportunity to expand testing, surveillance and quarantine facilities and said its success in eliminating polio was an example of how it could work.