Coronavirus outbreak Updates: 13 Italian tourists kept in isolation overnight in Amritsar, no symptoms shown

As the total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in India climbed to 31 Friday, the Indian Army decided to build quarantine facilities for 1,500 personnel across the country as part of the overall effort by the government to curb the virus. Tentative locations so far include Jaisalmer, Suratgarh, Secundrabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Taking precautionary measures, the Lok Sabha issued an advisory directing members of the Parliament to follow respiratory hygiene.

A man from New Delhi with a travel history to Thailand and Malaysia tested positive, earlier in the day. The Centre, meanwhile, said it was fully prepared to bring back the Indians stranded in Tehran and Qom on special Air India flights. After China, Iran is one of the worst affected countries in terms of positive coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus, which first broke out in China's Wuhan province, has now reached 80 countries and claimed over 3,000 lives across the globe. On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the US economy might take a hit from the outbreak but predicted the challenge would eventually pass and defended his handling of the crisis. Asked if the coronavirus outbreak hurt the economy, he said: "It certainly might have an impact. At the same time, I have to say people are now staying in the United States spending their money in the US, and I like that." "It's going to all work out. Everybody has to be calm," he said. "We have plans for every single possibility and I think that's what we have to do. We hope it doesn't last too long."

(Inputs from indianexpress.com)