The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently praised the Indian Government for its actions to combat the novel coronavirus. Henk Bekedam, the WHO Representative to India said, "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. He added, "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". Bekedam held a meeting with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and applauded the medical research institute for managing to isolate the strains of Sars-Cov-2. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak which was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) has currently spread outside China and gripped the entire world. Currently the number of infected people is more than a lakh around the world and 6000 people have already lost their lives due to this deadly coronavirus. As of 17 March, a total of 137 COVID-19 cases have been reported in India. They include 113 Indian nationals, 24 foreign nationals. 14 people have recovered from it and 3 people have lost their lives. Travel of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines and Malaysia to India has been prohibited. All passengers coming from the European Union, Turkey and United Kingdom have been prohibited from entering India and the earlier visa restrictions remain in force as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Health Screenings are being conducted at designated health counters at all points of entry to the country.
