Raj Thackeray downplays Coronavirus outbreak, calls it 'another name in disease list'

MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday, downplaying the outbreak of Coronavirus said that already 'many diseases' exist in the country and that another one has just made it to that list. As the country battles the spread of the virus, Raj Thackeray took on the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government for allegedly threatening the citizens of the state, in the name of curbing the spread of the coronavirus. 

"So many diseases already exist in our country. One more, named coronavirus, has joined the list...it doesn't matter, but we need to take care," Thackeray said, addressing an event organised on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti in central Maharashtra. "Many people asked me about the spread of coronavirus and procession taken out on Shiv Jayanti. I said many diseases already exist in our country; one more got added to it, there is no big deal," the MNS leader said.

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Coronavirus in Maharashtra 

One more person tested positive for the coronavirus in Pune on Thursday, taking the number of confirmed patients of the disease in the city to nine, a senior official said. Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar addressed a press conference and confirmed about 8 positive Coronavirus cases in Pune and 2 cases in Mumbai. Maharashtra Health authorities later confirmed 1 positive case in Nagpur as well.

Confirming the two positive cases in the city, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope stated that the infected patients have a travel history of Dubai and are being currently monitored. According to the state's Health Ministry. India on Wednesday suspended all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in view of the coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak as a pandemic, months after the virus spread from China's Wuhan. Over one lakh twenty thousand people have been tested positive for the virus and at least 4,000 people have died and over 60,000 have recovered. The virus has spread to nearly 120 countries and so far, 67 cases have been reported in India.

What is Coronavirus?

The coronavirus (CoV) is a novel strain in the large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. Common symptoms of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, as per WHO. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people, according to the WHO. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

(With agency inputs) 

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