Coronavirus latest LIVE Updates: Death toll rises to 16 in India; total cases now at 694

Coronavirus India Live Updates: The total number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in India has risen to 694, including 16 deaths, the Health Ministry said in its latest bulletin on Thursday. Among these, 44 patients have recovered so far.

Addressing a press briefing earlier, Lav Aggarwal, Health Ministry Joint Secretary, said that the rate at which the numbers are increasing appears to be relatively stablising. "However, this is only the initial trend," he said.

With India undergoing a 21-day lockdown till April 14, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced a economic package worth Rs. 1.7 lakh crore to help those who have been affected directly due to the nationwide lockdown.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also participated in a virtual summit of G-20 leaders, chaired by Saudi King Salman, to discuss the coronavirus pandemic.

Globally, the death toll has reached 21,287 with Italy reporting the highest number of casualties at 7,503 followed by Spain, which crossed China's toll on Wednesday, at 3,647, China at 3,163, Iran at 2,077 and France at 1,331 deaths so far. While the total number of confirmed cases across the world has reached 471,407 today.

(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)