Akshay Kumar on Sunday urged people to maintain proper hygiene amid novel coronavirus scare across the globe. The novel virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and has claimed over 3,000 lives in the country.

When asked if the Hindi film industry will be struck by the growing concern around coronavirus in the country, Akshay told a news agency, "There will be some effect but how much that is difficult to say. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said people shouldn't go to crowded places and safety measures should be taken."

"It all boils down to maintaining proper hygiene. One has to be very careful. We all have come down to the basic way of greeting people, that is namaste," he added.

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Meanwhile, with the threat of COVID-19 looming large, the government has tightened the entry into India for nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan with immediate effect. Indian citizens have also been advised to refrain from travelling to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and other affected countries.

In India, 29 people have been quarantined owing to coronavirus scare so far.

(Source: PTI)