Coronavirus: Latest updates on COVID-19 crisis around the world

Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus crisis in India and other parts of the world on Thursday. 4:10 p.m.

The Indian Railways decides to suspend all concessional tickets except for patients, students and those in the Divyangjan category from the midnight of March 20 till further notice to discourage unnecessary travel in view of the coronavirus outbreak. 3:58 p.m.

As a sign of the mounting chaos over panic buying amid the coronavirus pandemic in the UK, an elderly Sikh man was filmed being shoved out of a supermarket in east London. 3:54 p.m.

Sixteen Indians who tested positive for COVID-19 on ship off Japan returned home after treatment, MEA says. 3:27 p.m.

London is headed for much tougher lockdown measures within days as the city remains the country's coronavirus hotspot, with over a third of the UK’s 2,626 confirmed cases, at 953. The Punjab government announces suspension of public transport services from Friday midnight, besides restricting public gatherings to less than 20, amid coronavirus pandemic.

3:26 p.m. One employee of HCL Technologies from its Noida office has tested positive for coronavirus, the IT company says.

3:03 p.m. The Centre decides to allow 50 per cent of its employees to work from home and the remaining to attend office every day besides implementing different time slots for working hours, in its effort to further check the spread of coronavirus. 2:37 p.m.

IndiGo announces pay cut for senior employees, CEO takes 25 per cent cut amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard. 2:18 p.m.

Actor Lana Condor slams US President Donald Trump for referring to the novel coronavirus as the 'Chinese Virus', saying that he should be ashamed of using "racist words". 2:04 p.m.

Authorities have quarantined 78 people in Srinagar who arrived from Leh on suspicion of coronavirus infection. 2:01 p.m.

The sample of a 72-year-old man, who returned from Germany via Italy a fortnight ago and died at a hospital in Punjab's Nawanshahr district, has tested positive for novel coronavirus, senior officials say. 1:44 p.m. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram calls for an immediate lockdown of all towns and cities for 2-4 weeks to contain the spread of coronavirus.

1:38 p.m. Chorus for high-speed internet grows in Jammu and Kashmir following detection of first case of coronavirus.

1:04 p.m. The Delhi government orders closure of all government and private schools in the national capital for teaching and non- teaching staff till March 31 in view of coronavirus. 1:00 p.m.

UGC tells universities to postpone exams, suspend evaluation work due to coronavirus pandemic. 12:40 p.m.

Coronavirus cases in New York could reach 10,000 soon, Mayor Bill de Blasio says. 12:38 p.m.

The staffers at the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will be asked to 'work from home' from the next week with the sports body set to suspend majority of its operations from its headquarters in the wake of coronovirus outbreak. 11:57 a.m.

The National Conference suspends all its political activities in Kashmir in the wake of the first positive case of COVID-19 in the Valley. 11:43 a.m.

Nearly 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, UN agency says. 11:18 a.m.

A 23-year-old woman, who returned from London, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first confirmed case of the deadly infection in Chandigarh, official says. 10:46 a.m.

India's largest firm Reliance Industries initiates work-from-home for its staff while keeping open consumer-facing businesses of hospital, retail stores, and telecom with a minimum workforce due to COVID-19 pandemic. 10:38 a.m.

The ICSE board postpones class 10 and 12 examinations due to coronavirus threat, officials say. 10:01 a.m.

Railways cancels 84 more trains, which will not operate between March 20 and March 31 due to coronavirus and low occupancy, officials say. 9:56 a.m.

US President Donald Trump signs into law a sweeping multi-billion emergency aid package to help Americans mitigate the adverse economic impact of coronavirus that has killed over 8,800 people, including nearly 150 in America. 9:49 a.m.

Coronavirus cases in India rise to 169 after 18 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Health Ministry. 8:38 a.m.

The Indian Embassy in Washington asks the US government to mitigate the difficulties of Indian students in America in the wake of the closure of universities and educational institutions due to the coronavirus pandemic. 8:01 a.m.

China reports no new domestic coronavirus cases for first time 7:34 a.m. Two US Congressmen test positive for coronavirus, as the number of deaths due to the virus crossed 150 in America with about 10,000 people infected.

2:24 a.m. Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates says countries that shut down and do testing can bounce back in weeks from coronavirus pandemic.