Kiren Rijuju urges Sports Federations to follow Ministry's advisories amid Covid-19 scare

Amid the novel Coronavirus breakout and the steps being taken to contain it, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijuju has urged all the sports federations to follow advisories issued by the Sports and Health Ministry. Taking to Twitter, Rijiju strongly urged all the National Sports Federations to adhere to the advisory issued on March 3, especially in view of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. 

The advisory issued by the Sports Authority of India on March 3 advised all National Sports Federations to exercise caution while planning foreign competitions and training for the teams. The Sports Minister also urged authorities to follow the advisory issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which advised to ensure that no public gathering takes place in any sporting event. 

PM Modi assures preparedness

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and large gatherings. He claimed avoiding these can help “break the chain of spread and ensure safety". PM Modi also assured full preparedness by all ministries and states.

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Delhi bans IPL

In a big announcement, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister on Friday said that Delhi was strictly banning any large sports gatherings like the IPL in order to arrest the spread of the novel Coronavirus. India to date has reported at least 75 confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus as per figures by the Union Ministry of Health and Delhi has only reported 6.

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While addressing a press brief Manish Sisodia said, "The main way to arrest the spread of the virus is to stop big social events. Especially in events like IPL, people will travel from all over the place. We have decided to ban such events. I request everyone to not wait for government guidelines in times like these. All of us have to come together to stop Coronavirus," he said.

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Infected toll reaches 75 in India 

The number of infected persons in India has touched 75, according to the Health Ministry data until 10 AM, including one death. The coronavirus outbreak, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday, has led to more than 4,000 deaths globally. The government on Wednesday suspended all visas, barring a few categories like diplomatic and employment, in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

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