New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the government is not taking the coronavirus threat seriously and called for timely action to prevent the spread of the virus.

In India three cases of coronavirus have been detected so far but there has been no casualty.

"The coronavirus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Timely action is critical," Gandhi said in a tweet.

The death toll in China due to the novel coronavirus outbreak has gone up to 1,113 with 97 new fatalities reported mostly in the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases of the virus jumped to 44,653.

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before.