Coronavirus: Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe urges media to not telecast news from hospitals

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, senior Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe on Saturday urged media representatives to not cover news stories from the hospitals where the coronavirus patients are being treated.

Speaking to the media after the Maharashtra Assembly session, Gorhe said: "The threat of coronavirus has engulfed the world. When this issue was raised in the Assembly, I instructed all media representatives to not telecast news from outside the hospitals where the coronavirus patients are being protected, as this increases the chance of infection spreading to other people."

Gorhe requested all media houses across the country to not film news from inside or near the hospitals, and further asked not to telecast news in such a way where the identity, home, society and family of a person is unveiled before the public.

"My objective is not to impose a ban on media houses. Rather I have made this decision for the good of media representatives," she added.

The coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,20,000 people.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared coronavirus a pandemic and Europe as its epicentre with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China.