New Delhi, 14 March, 2020: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday that the novel coronavirus outbreak was at the "containment stage", adding that the Centre and the Delhi government had been working together to deal with it.

Kejriwal urged the people to not hoard sanitisers and masks, which is he said was not needed for those who are healthy as COVID-19 was not an airborne disease.

Addressing a one-day session of the Delhi Assembly, the chief minister said his government had been taking every step to check the spread of the pandemic.

"We have closed schools, cinema halls, universities... to contain the spread of coronavirus," Kejriwal told the Assembly. "We have been taking all precautionary measures and people have been supporting us."

"It is good that coronavirus is at the containment stage. The Centre and the Delhi government are working together to deal with it," he said.

Kejriwal underscored that precautionary measures, especially regular washing of hands, could help deal with the deadly disease.

"If you wear a mask, you may touch it and there's is a fear of getting infected," he said. "Only infected people should wear mask."

The chief minister explained that on a hard surface, the virus stays for about 48 hours and it lasts for about seven-eight days on a soft tissue surface.

"Instead of using sanitisers, you should wash your hands after every half hour, which would be sufficient," he said.

"It is important for all of us sitting here to inform the people that hoarding is not necessary. Unlike other diseases, there is no cure for this disease, the only cure is spreading information on how to contain the outbreak," Kejriwal said.

"We have made all the arrangements necessary to provide adequate treatment to those who need it. I hope that the people of Delhi remain safe, and I hope that all the departments will work in cooperation to contain the outbreak," he added.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain said more than 500 beds had been readied for COVID-19 cases.

Private hospitals should be allowed to run testing laboratories, he added.