We had time to prepare: Rahul Gandhi on Coronavirus crisis!

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he is "feeling sad" about the Coronavirus crisis in the country and that India could have been prepared to avoid landing in such a situation.

"I am feeling sad because this was completely avoidable. We had time to prepare. We should have taken this threat much more seriously and have been much better prepared," Mr Gandhi tweeted.

Thirty-two states and union territories in India are under a complete lockdown to contain the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. Close to 500 have tested positive for the virus and ten have died.

Mr. Gandhi was reacting to a Haryana-based doctor's tweet about the insufficiency of essential protection equipment in hospitals.

"When they arrive, please send N95 masks and gloves to my grave. Taali aur thaali bhi baja dena waha! Regards, frustrated sarkari doctor," Dr Kamna Kakkar tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan.

Mr.Gandhi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the "delay" in the government's decision to ban the export of ventilators and surgical masks amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

"Respected Prime Minister, WHO's advice 1. Ventilator 2. Surgical Mask, why did the Indian government allow the export of all these things until March 19, instead of keeping sufficient stock? Which kind of forces has encouraged these games? Isn't this a criminal conspiracy?" asked Mr Gandhi in a tweet in Hindi.

The government on March 19 banned export of all ventilators, surgical and disposable masks and textile raw material used for making masks with immediate effect.