'Prepare, but don't panic': PM Modi participates in SAARC video conference

"We started screening people entering India from mid-January itself, while gradually increasing restrictions on travel," Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with leaders and representatives from SAARC nations participated in a video conference to chalk out a joint strategy to fight the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 5,000 people worldwide.

Apart from Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, Bhutanese premier Lotay Tshering, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza participated in the video conference.

In his opening address, Prime Minister Modi said the South Asian region has reported less than 150 coronavirus