"He's A Senior Leader...": Minister On Rahul Gandhi's Coronavirus Tweet

Harsh Vardhan said he didn't want to get into a diatribe on Rahul Gandhi's tweet.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today reacted tersely to Rahul Gandhi's tweet questioning the government's response to the Coronavirus outbreak. The Congress leader had tweeted yesterday that the government was not taking the threat seriously.

"We have taken all precautions. He is a senior leader and the son of an important leader. I don't want to get into a diatribe on this," Harsh Vardhan said, refusing to say anything more on this.

Rahul Gandhi had tweeted yesterday: "The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical."  

The Congress MP, followed by 12 million, tagged a Harvard University report in his tweet.

Last week, Harsh Vardhan had taken on Mr Gandhi in parliament and denounced his comment at a Delhi rally about "Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) getting beaten with a danda (stick) over the job crisis".

In India, three cases of coronavirus have been detected so far. Over 1,100 people have died in China of the deadly virus and it has spread to over 20 countries.

Three coronavirus cases were reported in Kerala in the last few weeks. All three patients are students who returned from China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak, last month.

In a ship quarantined off Japan, two Indians have tested positive for the virus. There are 138 Indians on the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in central China's Hubei province in December last year. The confirmed cases of infection jumped to 44,653 in the province, health officials said today.

The virus was officially named "COVID-19" by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights to the country.