No need to panic over coronavirus: Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that there is no need to panic after new cononavirus cases found in the country.

"There is no need to panic. We need to work together, take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection," PM Modi said in a tweet, reported NDTV.

"Had an extensive review regarding preparedness on COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus... different ministries and states are working together, from screening people arriving in India to providing prompt medical attention," the Prime Minister said.

Asking all Indians to "work together (and) take small yet important measures to ensure self-protection", the Prime Minister also listed "basic protective measures", including frequent washing of hands and covering the mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called an urgent meeting with Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other officials to take stock of his government's preparedness to deal with the coronavirus.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a high-level meeting on Monday and advised people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore

The first case from Telangana was reported from Hyderabad on Monday; a 24-year-old software engineer who works in Bengaluru had worked with people from Hong Kong in Dubai last month, where he is suspected to have contracted the virus.

The first case in Delhi was confirmed after the parent of a child in a private school in neighbouring Noida tested positive for the virus. The school will be shut for three days - from Wednesday to Friday. The 45-year-old man has a travel history from Italy, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

Earlier, three cases had been reported from Kerala; all three had returned from China's Wuhan district, from where the virus is believed to have originated.

The government had mounted a massive operation, led by the Army, to bring back over 600 Indians from Wuhan. As many as 119 Indians stranded on a quarantined Japanese ship were also brought back.

The global death count from the outbreak has crossed 3,000 and cases soared around the world with six deaths in the United States. The deadly virus, first detected in China in December last year, has spread to more than 60 countries and infected more than 88,000 people.