New Delhi, March 17: A total of 23 long-distance trains were cancelled by the Central Railway on Tuesday, in bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The trains which have been terminated include Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani Express, Mumbai-Pune Deccan Express and Mumbai-Nagpur Nandigram Express, among others. The measure has been taken to boost "social distancing" or minimisation of people-to-people contact. Maharashtra Shuts Down All Govt Offices Amid COVID-19 Scare.

The Central, Western and Southern Railways had earlier announced that they would not be providing blankets to the passengers in AC coaches to prevent the transmission of virus. Further, the government has advised the citizens to travel only if necessitated.

Check List of Trains Cancelled by Central Railway

India has so far recorded 126 coronavirus cases, with three deaths so far. The country is among those which has faced the minimal impact of nCoV-2019. The virus has claimed nearly 3,500 lives in China, followed by over 2,100 in Italy and 988 in Iran. The World Health Organisation had last week declared coronavirus as "pandemic" as it affects all countries across the globe.

The state governments across the nation have invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to shut down schools, colleges, other educational institutes, malls, gyms and places of social gathering to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The move was adopted after the coronavirus outbreak entered into its "second stage" in India. The Centre, as well as the states, are working in coordination to prevent "cluster" and "community" outbreak of coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 17, 2020 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).