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Indian Navy's Multilateral Naval Exercise MILAN Postponed Due To Coronavirus Outbreak

Around 40 Countries Were Supposed To Participate In The MILAN Exercise, Which Started In 1995.

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Raghwendra Shukla | Updated on: 03 Mar 2020, 08:42:55 PM
indian navy

The multilateral naval exercise was scheduled to be conducted by the Indian Navy. (Photo Credit: IANS)

New Delhi:

The Indian Navy has postponed MILAN 2020 – a multilateral naval exercise - amid coronavirus fears. The naval exercise was scheduled to be conducted by the Indian Navy from 18 to 28 March 20 at Visakhapatnam. The decision to postpone the exercise was taken after considering the safety of all participants and travel restrictions imposed by the spread of COVID-19. Around 40 countries were supposed to participate in the MILAN exercise, which started in 1995. It was conducted at the Andaman and Nicobar Command until 2018.

“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,” an official statement said.

“The conduct of MILAN 2020 had generated a very enthusiastic response, with Navies around the world having expressed their desire to participate; and in deference to this interest, the Indian Navy looks forward toward scheduling MILAN at a later convenient date,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, an Italian tourist in Jaipur has tested positive for novel coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in India to six so far, Union Health Ministry sources said Tuesday. The first sample collected from the tourist on Saturday had tested negative, but his condition deteriorated and a second sample was collected, which tested positive on Monday.

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“Since there was a variation in the reports, samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune for testing,” officials said, adding that it had tested positive. India on Monday reported two new cases of the deadly coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed over 3,100 people worldwide. 

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First Published : 03 Mar 2020, 07:38:57 PM

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