WHO lauds India's efforts in combating COVID-19

The virus declared as a pandemic by WHO has infected more than 190,000 people and killed over 6,600 globally.

After holding a meeting with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Henk Bekedam, the WHO Representative to India, praised the top medical research institute for managing to isolate the strains of Sars-Cov-2.

"I think the commitment of the Indian government from the top level -- the Prime Minister's office himself -- has been enormous, very impressive. This is one of the reasons why India is doing very well. I am very impressed that everyone has been mobilised," Bekedam told reporters.

"We have very good research capacity in India and especially at the ICMR and the Department of Health Research. They have been able to isolate the virus, (and) now India will continue to be part of the research community," he added.

COVID-19 outbreak at Stage 2 in India:

Balram Bhargava, director-general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Tuesday, confirmed that India is still in phase 2 (local transmission) of the COVID19 outbreak which has claimed three lives in the country so far.

"We already know that we are in stage 2," he said while addressing press conference.

Stage 2 of the coronavirus is where the disease transmission is limited to those with travel history to the affected countries and others in contact with the infected persons. In stage 3 of the virus, it starts spreading through the community.

He said the country is not passing through stage three of the outbreak clearly.

"We have 72 functional laboratories in ICMR system," he said.

As the Novel Coronavirus engulfed the entire world, the death toll from the virus in India rose to three on Tuesday as a 64-year old man passed away at Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital.

The deceased, who had returned from Dubai, was first admitted to Hinduja Hospital and later shifted to an isolation facility at Kasturba Hospital.

The man's wife and son have also tested COVID-19 positive.

So far, 142 people including 13 cured and three deaths have been infected by the deadly Coronavirus.

India's Preventive measures:

Besides announcing the closure of educational institutions in most of the states of the country, the government has also decided to shut down various tourist spots including the iconic Taj Mahal, which attracts a huge number of tourists regularly.

In a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Federation of Pune Trade Association on Tuesday decided to shut down all the markets for the next three days.

Nearly 50,000 shops will be shut till March 19, the closure will adversely hit business.

Meanwhile, Pune administration today issued the notice informing about closure of Shaniwar Wada-the historical fort in this city.

World-famous Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple has asked devotees to seek e-darshan as it shuts doors till further notice.

The Bhimashankar temple, one of the 12 Joytirlinga shrines in India, will also be closed after evening prayer today.

Many states like West Bengal have also ordered the closing down of cinema halls to prevent large gathering.

In West Bengal and Maharashtra, most of the film and television shootings have been called off amid the spread ogf the virus.

Earlier in a major move, the Indian government issued a new travel advisory in which it suspended all visas to India till April 15.

Any foreign national who intends to travel to India for compelling reason will have to contact the nearest Indian Mission.

All incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after 15th Feb shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days.

Incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, have been advised to avoid non-essential travel.