Coronavirus LIVE news updates: All COVID-19 tests to be free of cost, SC orders

With COVID-19 cases showing no signs of abating in India, the Supreme Court Wednesday said tests relating to novel coronavirus whether in approved government laboratories or approved private laboratories “shall be free of cost”.

Meanwhile, as India enters what the authorities call the “make-or-break week,” the number of confirmed coronavirus cases have crossed the 5,000-mark to stand at 5,274. The number of casualties, currently at 149, also registered a jump of 32 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told floor leaders of opposition and other parties in Parliament that the nationwide lockdown will not be lifted in one go after it ends on April 14. He will also do a video conference with all Chief Ministers on April 11. In Uttar Pradesh, in a bid to prevent the further spread of coronavirus through “community transmission”, the state government has decided to seal areas in 15 districts including Noida and Ghaziabad.