At a press briefing on coronavirus, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said 75 new cases of coronavirus and four deaths were reported in the last 24 hours

India is likely to participate in the WHO's "solidarity trial" for developing potential drugs for COVID-19. At a press briefing on coronavirus, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said 75 new cases of coronavirus and four deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

"We are soon likely to participate in the WHO solidarity trial for developing potential drugs for COVID-19. Earlier we did not do it because our numbers were small and our contribution would have looked minuscule," Raman R Gangakhedkar, Head of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at ICMR, said.

Agarwal added that a PSU was ordered to provide 10,000 ventilators while Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was requested to purchase 30,000 additional ventilators in one-two months amidst a shortage of the machines in the country.

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), said that states and union territories (UTs) have been requested to make arrangements for food, water and sanitation for migrant labourers. Hotels and rented accommodation should stay open and functional.

She, however, ruled out any plan to ferry stranded migrants from across cities or states, saying that the whole idea of a lockdown was to ensure no movement of people from their present places.

Agarwal also said that keeping in mind that hospital OPDs are being shut, the government has issued national telemedicine guidelines.

"This facilitates the process wherein doctors sitting at their homes can provide services to the patients. We urge and request citizens to take advantage of it and doctors to utilise this," he said. 

Agarwal further said that the health ministry has issued national telemedicine guidelines.

"We have issued national telemedicine guidelines. This facilitates the process wherein doctors sitting at their homes can provide services to the patients. We urge and request citizens to take advantage of it and doctors to utilise this,” he said.

A total of 735 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, while the death toll stands at 16.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a pan-India 21-day lockdown, saying that "social distancing" was the only option to deal with the disease.