The global death toll from coronavirus crossed 8,000 on Wednesday and the number of global infections topped 200,000. Most of the deaths have been recorded in Europe and Asia, where the outbreak of deadly virus originated in China.
With at least 684 new deaths in the past 24 hours, Europe has emerged as the new epicentre of coronavirus outbreak. Millions of people have been placed on lockdown in Europe, including Italy, which witnessed over 400 deaths on Wednesday due to COVID-19 virus. The European Union swung into action on Wednesday and decided to seal off its borders in order to curb the spread of deadly virus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation on Thursday (March 19) at 8 PM, during which he will talk about coronavirus and the measures taken by the government to combat it.
The information about Prime Minister's address to the nation was given by PMO's twitter handle that said, "PM Shri @narendramodi will address the nation on 19th March 2020 at 8 PM, during which he will talk about issues relating to COVID-19 and the efforts to combat it."
PM Modi also chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the ongoing efforts to contain COVID-19. He discussed the ways to further strengthen India’s preparedness, and this included enhancing testing facilities.
According to PMO's statement, "Prime Minister emphasised on actively engaging with individuals, local communities and organisations in chalking our mechanisms to fight the COVID-19 menace. He also urged officials and technical experts to deliberate on the steps to be taken next."
The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude to all those at the forefront of combating COVID-19 including the various state governments, medical fraternity, paramedical staff, armed and paramilitary forces, those associated with the aviation sector, municipal staff and others.
Meanwhile, Union Ministry of Family and Health Welfare confirmed on Wednesday that the number of positive cases of coronavirus has climbed to 151, including 25 foreign nationals, while three persons have died due to the infection so far in India.
