At present, the country is reeling under the threat of 2069 COVID-19 positive cases and 53 deaths already.

However, the John Hopkins University's live map of Coronavirus puts the number of deaths in India at 58.

Raising much worry, most of the cases in recent times have evolved from the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid in Delhi's Nizamuddin which hosted around 2000-3000 people across the country.

Maharashtra remains the most affected state with the maximum number of positive cases.

PM holds meeting with CMs through video conference

In what seemed as a clear message of not extending the lockdown further beyond the 21-day period, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a video conference with chief ministers and asked them to strategise on the movement of people post-Apr 14.

"It is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends," he said during the conference.

The Prime Minister also announced that on Friday morning he will be sharing a small video message with his countrymen.

Punishment for violators

Meanwhile, the Centre on Thursday instructed the states to sent to prison all violators of lockdown.

Directing for stern action under the existing laws, the Centre announced that violators of norms or those obstructing officials from doing their duties would land up in jail for one or two years.

Global scenario

Globally the total number of Coronavirus positive cases stand at 962,977 with 49,180 deaths. Over 2 lakhs people recovered.

As per John Hopkins Coronavirus live map, the pandemic has affected maximum people in the United States which now have 216,768 cases while Italy witnessed maximum deaths with the toll reaching 13,155.