Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that he would not be participating in the Holi celebrations, given the coronavirus outbreak.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, "Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan programme."
Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a helpline number +91-11-23978046 for people to inform the government about the suspected cases of coronavirus. Alongwith the number, the ministry has also issued an email-id ncov2019@gmail.com in order to combat the spread of the virus in India.
The ministry has also issued guidlines for prevention of the virus in its advisory.
Till now, 28 cases of coronavirus have been reported out of India. These include 16 Italian tourists, their driver, three people from Kerala who have been cured, six people from Agra, one person from New Delhi, and one person from Telangana. "We have requested all hospitals in Delhi to develop good quality isolation wards, in order to stay prepared if more cases of Coronavirus are suspected in the national capital," said union health minister Harsh Vardhan.
