Published 19:34 IST, March 14th 2020
BJP MP Vijay Goel seeks Parliament adjournment amid COVID-19 scare, cites PM Modi's advice
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn both Houses of Parliament sine dine.
- India News
- 3 min read
In the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel on Saturday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn both Houses of Parliament for an indefinite period. He opined that this would be a follow-up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to avoid gatherings. At the same time, he suggested that important bills could be wrapped up quickly. On Thursday, the PM stated that the spread of the disease can be halted by avoiding non-essential travel and mass gatherings.
The coronavirus crisis
First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected nearly 129 countries in the world. Presently, there are 1,42,320 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 5,388 people. So far, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India is 84 while the death of one person in Kalaburagi and Delhi each has been reported. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15. Moreover, the Centre has “strongly advised” Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as 'pandemic'. Two days later, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that Europe had become the new epicenter of the novel coronavirus. To buttress this point, he highlighted that more cases were being reported every day in Europe than they were in China at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Updated 19:34 IST, March 14th 2020