Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked Indian citizens to dedicate a few weeks to fight coronavirus and asked them to use their resolve and patience as tools to contain and combat the infection that has claimed over 8,000 lives globally including four in India.
Modi said it was wrong to assume that India will escape the impact of a crisis that has led to such devastating impact across the world even in developed economies.
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“Indian citizens need to strengthen their resolve and patience to fight coronavirus by following government guidelines and to ensure that we don’t get infected and save others from getting infected.” the PM said.
“The second desired attribute of ‘patience’ will help us maintain social distancing to avoid crowds,” he said.
He also proposed a “Janata” curfew to be self imposed on March 22, when people should refrain from going out unnecessarily. The experience of this one day Janata curfew will help immensely in the future, he said.
Modi said the crisis that has plunged the entire humanity into trouble had shown a pattern of sudden explosion in worst-hit countries which is worrying.
{{/usCountry}}Modi said the crisis that has plunged the entire humanity into trouble had shown a pattern of sudden explosion in worst-hit countries which is worrying.
{{/usCountry}}“For the past days, there is a sentiment building that we are saved from this global pandemic. This thought is not right and we need to be alert and be on guard,” the PM said.
He added that “till now, science has not been able to find a distinct solution for coronavirus and a vaccine has not been developed yet, therefore it is natural to worry.”
The coronavirus outbreak has infected 173 people in India and claimed four lives.
PM Modi’s televised address comes hours after the government banned all international flights for a week. The decision was an effort to ensure that the highly contagious coronavirus, or Covid-19, does not move to the next stage of community transmission.
Over the past couple of weeks, the government has consistently scaled up its testing and quarantine facilities to prepare for the worst-case scenario when coronavirus moves into the community transmission stage.