Stock market affected due to fear amid Coronavirus, says Prinicpal Economic Advisor

As Coronavirus continues to be a threat to the country, Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal on Friday apprised about the fall in the stock market. He said it to be a direct result of the prevailing environment of fear caused due to the ongoing crisis over the virus across the globe. This comes after two deaths and 82 confirmed cases of Coronavirus have been reported in India.

Speaking to news agency, Sanyal said that the outbreak has affected the economy and added that measures have been taken to contain the spread. He said that the central government is taking proactive actions to contain the spread of the virus, its impact on businesses, the market and the economy.

"The fall is due to the prevailing environment of fear amid Coronavirus. There are some effects on the economy, but we have been taking measures since the beginning to contain its spread and minimise the impact," Sanyal said.

"We are taking responsible actions to contain the spread of Coronavirus. We were one of the first countries that brought students and tourists back from other countries," Sanyal added. He further stressed that the deadly virus has affected business and trade and assured the investors not to fall prey to the environment of fear created by the pandemic.

"It has impacted business. We have a lot of imports and export with China and other countries. This has been affected. However, we are keeping a close eye on the matter. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had taken cognisance of the matter a few weeks ago and held several meetings with business persons and industrialists," Sanyal added.

Meanwhile, equity benchmark indices staged the biggest ever intra-day recovery on Friday after hitting a 10 per cent lower circuit for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis.

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2 deaths reported in India 

Laboratory reports on Thursday confirmed that the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who passed away on Tuesday night had contracted the novel Coronavirus. This marked India’s first COVID-19 death since the outbreak of the virus. The Karnataka Health Department had revealed that the man returned from Saudi Arabia to Hyderabad on February 29.

Initially, he was admitted to the outpatient department of a private hospital in Kalaburagi on March 5. After 4 days, he was shifted to a private hospital in Hyderabad. However, the hospital informed the patient’s family to shift him back to Kalaburagi and he, unfortunately, passed away in the ambulance on the way to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences on Tuesday. 

Furthermore, on Friday, India's second death due to the virus was reported. The victim was a 68-year-old woman from West Delhi, who passed away at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. While she was suffering from diabetes and hypertension, she contracted COVID-19 reportedly due to being in contact with her son, who travelled to Switzerland and Italy between February 5 to 22. He too has been tested positive for the deadly virus.

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