Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Centre of not treating the novel coronavirus outbreak seriously. Three cases of the virus have been reported in India so far – all of them are in Kerala and are receiving treatment.
“The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy,” Gandhi tweeted. “My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical.”
Officially called COVID-19, the virus, which is believed to have originated in a live seafood market in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, has claimed 1,113 lives in China. As of Wednesday, at least 44,653 confirmed cases of the disease were reported across China. Hubei is the epicentre of the outbreak.
Symptoms of the novel coronavirus can include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It can also cause respiratory illness, and is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, which had also emerged from China in 2002. SARS killed 774 people around the world.
The disease has caused panic in the countries that are affected by it. A 50-year-old farmer in Andhra Pradesh’s allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday, fearing that he may have contracted the novel coronavirus infection.
Also read:
Novel coronavirus outbreak: Toll in China rises to 1,113, nearly 45,000 confirmed cases reported
Coronavirus: Andhra farmer fears he contracted infection, dies by suicide
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