Panaji, Mar 11 (PTI) The Goa Health Department has urged the state government to cancel the upcoming private music festival amid coronavirus scare.

Talking to reporters in Panaji on Wednesday evening, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the music festival will have artists from five countries, which are affected by coronavirus outbreak.

"We have written to the chief minister today to ask the organisers to cancel the music festival and postpone it. We are advising to avoid large gatherings to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus," Rane said.

He was referring to upcoming Ketevan Sacred Music Festival scheduled to be held between March 13 and 15 at Old Goa and nearby places.

Rane said the state government should discourage all kind of gatherings as a precautionary measures against the spread of the virus.

He said his department has written to the chief minister to procure the testing equipments so that Goa can have its own laboratory at Goa Medical College and Hospital instead of relying on the facility at Pune.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)