Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra received the "best gift" from a friend as coronavirus cases in the country continue to rise. The businessman took to Twitter to praise his friend Ashok Kurien for gifting him a reusable N95 mask. Anand Mahindra said the mask was produced by Livinguard.
He said the mask is "washable and "reusable" and can "destroy viruses". The company is stepping up production in India, Anand Mahindra added.
???????????????????????? to my friend Ashok Kurien, who sent me the best gift for these times! Proud to learn that an Indian inventor's Swiss company has come out with these washable,reusable masks that destroy viruses. They're stepping up production in India. https://t.co/uZv23cAM7j pic.twitter.com/YFawmDhvcY
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 13, 2020
The total number of people infected with coronavirus has climbed to 78 in India.
The government has suspended all non-essential visas to India till April 15 to minimise the risk of the coronavirus from spreading fast.
People have been asked not to attend large gatherings, where chances of contracting the virus are very high.
The Delhi government has banned gatherings of over 200 people at sporting activities, including Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches, and events like conferences until further notice "for the purpose of prevention and control of the outbreak of the epidemic disease, COVID-19".
Ealy morning, Google confirmed that one of its employees in Bengaluru has tested positive for coronavirus. The 26-year-old man had recently returned from Greece and reportedly visited several places in the Karnataka capital. He has been placed in isolation at a Bengaluru hospital, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu said. People who may have come in contact with him are being traced, according to the state government.
The state government has started precautionary measures around Google staffer, who is believed to be the sixth virus case.
India's first coronavirus death was reported from Karnataka on Thursday. A 76-year-old man who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia died on Tuesday. After his death his samples were confirmed to be positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, several people from the state are among the hundreds of Indians stranded at airports in Italy, one of the worst-hit countries in the world.
The World Health Organisation has declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic, meaning it has spread worldwide and affected huge number of people.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
