LIVE: Health Ministry updates on COVID-19

Health Ministry, Government of India, is holding a press conference to update on the latest actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19.

As of today, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stands at 18,658, while the number of deaths surged to 592. A total of 1,331 cases were reported in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit, and has recorded 472 new cases and nine new deaths. Let's listen in to the live updates.

Globally, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 2,490,516 cases with 170,590 deaths so far. The number of people discharged from hospital and declared cured stands at 3,251 as per the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Joint Secretary of Ministry of Family and Health Affairs, Luv Agarwal, also said that as per data available untill April 19, several states have shown development in terms of flattening the curve. He said that a total of 18 states and Union Territories have shown improvement.