The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in India crossed the 20,000-mark on Wednesday while the death toll crossing 650 till Thursday morning.

As of 7:00 AM on Thursday, COVID-19 has globally infected over 26.26 lakh people and killed over 1.83 lakh people, as per the data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

On Wednesday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that coronavirus will remain with us for a long time and warned that several countries are still in the early stages of tackling the pandemic.

The central government has also exempted additional agricultural and forestry items, shops of educational books for students and shops of electric fans from the lockdown restrictions. It is to be noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued revised guidelines to exempt certain activities during the nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, which is spreading like wildfire across India.

The government has also approved an ordinance through which an accused involved in the attack on healthcare workers could be sentenced from 6 months to 7 years in imprisonment depending on the grievousness of the injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed the ordinance.

Here are the latest updates on coronavirus in India

12:30 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

Karnataka update - Till date 443 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 17 deaths & 141 discharges. 16 new positive cases have been reported from 22th April 2020, 5:00 PM to 23thApril 2020, 12:00 noon.

12:10 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

Maharashtra:

TOTAL CASES: 5649NEW CASES; 431TOTAL DEATHS: 269NEW DEATHS: 18MORTALITY: 4.76 %

Maharashtra mortality rate 4.76 % is more than national average 3.18% but lower than world average 6.84%

11:50 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

Four tigers and three lions have tested COVID-19 positive at the Bronx Zoo in New York, authorities announced.

9:10 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

Total cases 21,393, Death toll 681. New cases in last 24 hours 1409, deaths 41

8:15 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

Around 12 members of a family in Delhi's Jama Masjid area test positive for coronavirus. The lane at which their house was located is being sealed.

7:30 IST Thursday, 23 April 2020

The United States on Wednesday recorded 1,738 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a lower toll than the day before, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. The new deaths bring the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the US to 46,583 since the outbreak began there, by far the highest figures recorded by any country caught in the global pandemic.