Coronavirus fears force Indian navy to suspend naval exercise

The Indian Navy announced on Tuesday it had postponed a naval exercise as a precautionary step against the coronavirus, which has killed over 2,700 people worldwide and affected over 80,000. 

A biennial and multilateral naval exercise MILAN was scheduled to be held off the coast of Visakhapatnam from March 18-20. However, fears of the pandemic forced the Indian Navy to hold off the event for the time being. 

"It is for information that MILAN 2020 - a multilateral naval exercise scheduled to be conducted by the Indian Navy from 18 to 28 Mar 20, at Visakhapatnam, has been postponed taking into consideration the safety of all participants and travel restrictions imposed by the spread of COVID-19," read an official statement from the navy. 

The statement clarified that the Indian Navy will hold the event at a later convenient date as "Navies around the world have expressed their desire to participate". 

On Monday, India reported two new cases of the coronavirus including a Delhi man. An Italian person in Jaipur was also carrying the virus, confirmed reports. 

The coronavirus, which spread from the wet markets of Wuhan, China, where animals and humans are close to each other, has affected thousands in South Asia, Europe and America. 

Governments around the world have sprung into action, taking precautionary measures and quarantining the infected in isolation wards.