We evacuated Indians and citizens of neighbours from COVID19-hit countries, says PM Modi at SAARC video con

"We also responded to the call of our people abroad. We evacuated nearly 1400 Indians from different countries. We also similarly helped some of the citizens of our neighborhood countries," Modi, who had proposed for a joint conference of the SAARC leaders to combat Coronavirus trouble, said.

Speaking on the efforts made by India to tackle the menace, Modi said: "We have made special efforts to reach out to vulnerable groups. We have worked to quickly ramp up capacity in our system including through training our medical staff across the country."

" We started screening entry into India from mid-January itself, while also gradually increasing restrictions on travel. The step-by-step approach has helped avoid panic," he said.

Modi said SAARC countries should remain vigilant to keep the coronavirus cases in the region under control.

"As we all know, COVID-19 has recently been classified by W.H.O. as a pandemic. So far, our region has listed fewer than 150 cases. But we need to remain vigilant," he said.

Modi is leading India at the video conference of all SAARC member countries, to chalk out a strong common strategy to fight COVID-19 in the region.