New Delhi, March 3: Indian Navy's multilateral exercise Milan, a biennial event, may get cancelled amid fears of coronavirus outbreak, said reports citing top government sources on Tuesday. The joint naval drill was scheduled to be held from March 18, 2020 in Visakhapatnam. A total of 41 nations were invited for the multilateral exercise, including the Navies of US, France, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Coronavirus Outbreak in India: Six in Agra, Who Came in Contact With Delhi Patient, Detected With High Viral Load.

Holding the Milan exercise amid the global coronavirus outbreak may not only force India to rescind the invitation extended to COVID-19-hit nations, but may also add strain on Indian Navy personnel who are expected to be deployed for quarantine missions in the next few days. According to the sources cited by news agency ANI, the government has asked Army, Navy and Air Force to  be prepared for quarantine facilities for over 2500 suspected cases in coming days.

Update by ANI

The Indian government confirmed the detection of two positive coronavirus cases - each in Delhi and Hyderabad. Six others in Uttar Pradesh's Agra are suspected to have contracted the virus, with their blood samples sent for testing. Several schools in Delhi and Noida have been directed to remain shut for quarantine purpose.

The cancellation of Milan exercise would come as a setback as the joint naval drill is part of India's wide diplomatic outreach. Indonesia, Mozambique, Sudan, Israel, Qatar, Thailand, Australia, Kenya and Egypt are also among the 41 nations invited for the event. Notably, no invite was issued to China - an weather military ally of New Delhi's arch rival Islamabad.

"The government pursues cooperation initiatives with friendly foreign countries including in Indian Ocean region through structured interactions like staff talks, empowered steering group etc," Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik had said in the Parliament in November. "The areas of cooperation include Capacity Building, Marine Domain Awareness, Training, Hydrography, Technical Assistance, Operational Exercise etc," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 03, 2020 06:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).