COVID-19: Irish PM Leo Varadkar sends special message to his ancestral village in Maharashtra

In a special video message, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has urged the people of India to remain optimistic in the fight against coronavirus and assured solidarity during the difficult times, not only affecting the health but also the economy and livelihoods of most nations.

In the message addressed for Varadkar's ancestral village of Malvan in Maharashtra and the people of India, the prime minister said, "We are trying to deal with an enormous challenge that is the coronavirus pandemic. It is affecting different countries in different ways. But it is affecting different countries."

Varadkar is the third child and only son of Ashok and Miriam Varadkar. His father was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), and moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s, to work as a doctor. His mother, born in Dungarvan, County Waterford, met her future husband while working as a nurse in Slough.

The prime minister further went on to say that people in Ireland, like in India, have also been subjected to various shutdowns and social restrictions designed to make sure that the virus doesn't spread.

"I know how difficult that is in India as well. Ramping up testing, ramping up contact tracing, trying to develop new vaccines, new medicines and trying to protect our healthcare staff. I know it is going to be a big struggle for everyone around the world, impacting not only our health but also our economy and livelihoods," Varadkar said in the message.

"But history tells us that any problem can be overcome, every pandemic beaten, any virus put back its packs," he stressed further.

The prime minister, in the video message also stated that in history whenever economies face a severe blow, it recovers if governments make the right decision and people and businesses work hard.

"This is a difficult time but we have every reason to be optimistic about the future. My calls and prayers for everyone. The people of Ireland are with the people of India," he said.

India has reported 1,336 more COVID-19 cases taking the total count in the country to 18,601 in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

Out of these, 14,759 are active cases and 3,252 patients have been cured and discharged and migrated. As many as 590 deaths have been reported till now.

Meanwhile, Ireland has registered over 15,000 positive cases of the deadly contagion, with more than 500 deaths, as per Johns Hopkins University.

( With inputs from ANI )