Ekta Kapoor suspends all Balaji productions amid coronavirus outbreak

To contain the spread of novel coronavirus, producer Ekta Kapoor on Tuesday announced that she has suspended all administrative and production work cross Balaji Telefilms Limited, Balaji Motion Pictures Limited and ALTBalaji. In a statement posted on her official Twitter account, Ekta said the safety and well-being of the company's employees, cast and crew are of paramount importance to her. "In light of the pandemic spread of the COVID-19 virus, all administrative and production work across Balaji Telefilms Limited, Balaji Motion Pictures Limited, and ALTBalaji stands suspended till further notice.

"We are complying with all safety and precautionary measures suggested by the government to help contain the situation. We are confident that together we will show our resilience and bounce back. We urge everyone to be safe and ensure necessary health measures," the statement read. Ekta's statement comes a day after director-producer Karan Johar's Dharma Production announced the suspension of all administrative and production work

On Sunday, various film bodies in India including Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE), Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) and Producers Guild of India decided to put shootings of films, TV shows and web series on hold from March 19 to March 31. Various events, award functions, interviews, shooting schedules stand postponed or canceled in view of the outbreak

India has reported 126 positive cases including 22 foreign nationals. So far, three people -- one each in Karnataka, Delhi, and Maharashtra -- have lost their lives after getting infected with the virus. The virus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has claimed over 7,000 lives and infected more than 175,530 people in 145 countries.