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With lockdown announcement, PM Modi draws Laxman Rekha
Announcing an unprecedented three-week national lockdown, which will be “akin to a curfew”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed citizens to stay at home, and not come out for the next 21 days.
Announcing an unprecedented three-week national lockdown, which will be “akin to a curfew”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed citizens to stay at home, and not come out for the next 21 days. If people did not abide by the directive, the PM warned, they risked setting themselves, their families, and India, back by 21 years.
In his second address to the nation on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in less than a week, Modi underlined the gravity of the outbreak and its rapid spread; emphasised the importance of “social distancing” as the one and only way to break the chain of transmission; acknowledged the economic costs of the lockdown but underlined that the priority was to save lives; announced a ₹15,000 crore fund to strengthen the health infrastructure to deal with the pandemic; and assured citizens that the Centre and state governments were working to ensure adequate supplies, minimise inconvenience, and help the poor.
Modi also acknowledged the role of those in the front-line of essential services — doctors, nurses, paramedics, those in hospital administration, ambulance drivers, ward boys, safai karmchari, police officials, and media professionals — that would continue to function through the lockdown, which has been enforced by using the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for the first time at a pan-India level.
The PM began by praising the resolve of citizens in observing the “people’s curfew” of Sunday, and said that the pandemic had made the world helpless — and that this was not because of lack of effort or lack of resources. The PM, later in the speech, pointed out that while it took 67 days for the virus to affect the first 100,000 individuals, it took merely 11 days for it to affect another 100,000 cases, and just four days to infect another 100,000 people. “This shows you how rapidly it spreads, and how once it spreads, it is difficult to control.”
The PM said that based on the study of all the countries which had got affected in the last two months, there was one, and only one, way to battle the pandemic — social distancing.
“Social distancing, which means staying away from each other, staying at home, is the only way to battle the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). If we want to stop the spread, we need to break the chain of transmission. Some people believe that social distancing only applies to the ill — this is wrong. Social distancing is for every citizen, every family, every member of every family, even the Prime Minister.”
He underlined that people’s carelessness could put individuals, their families, friends, and ultimately, the nation, in great danger. “If this carelessness continues, India will have to pay a huge price — and it is difficult to assess the extent of this price.”
The PM then announced that from midnight on Tuesday, India was going in for a “full lockdown” for three weeks. “To save India, to save Indian citizens, to save yourself, to save your families, there is a full ban on getting out of your homes. All states, all Union territories, all towns and villages will be locked down. This is a curfew in one form. This is a step ahead of the people’s curfew. This will be more strict. This step is essential for a decisive battle against the coronavirus pandemic.”
Modi said that while there was an economic price of the lockdown, saving lives was the highest priority for him, his government, and for state and local governments. “I pray to you — with folded hands — that wherever you are in the country, stay there... The next 21 days are critical for all citizens. These 21 days are critical to break the chain of transmission. If we can’t control it in these 21 days, then we will slide back by 21 years. Many families will get ruined forever. I am saying this not as PM but as a member of your family. Forget what it means to get out for 21 days. Stay at home, just stay at home.” The PM added that the lockdown had created a “Laxman Rekha” — or a strict boundary, a classical allusion to the Ramayana — in front of one’s home. “One step outside your home will bring the corona inside your home.”
Explaining the asymptomatic nature of the disease, the PM said that it often takes several days for an infected person to show symptoms. “In this process, consciously or unconsciously, he transmits it all those who he comes in contact with. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this one person can transmit it to hundreds.” Modi gave the examples of China, the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Iran to show the rapid spread of the disease, despite their well developed health infrastructure.
“The only ray of hope comes from those countries which have controlled it to some extent. In these countries, people did not come out for weeks, listened to the government, and they are now emerging out of it. We cannot exit our homes, come what may. From the PM to the villager, everyone has to practice social distancing. We have to break the transmission. We have to break the chain.”
The PM emphasised that the Central and state governments were working together to minimise inconvenience, ensure adequate supply of essentials, and minimise the pain of the poor who are suffering. This was coupled with the effort of the Centre to strengthen health systems. The PM announced a special allocation of ₹15,000 crore, with a focus on quickly enhancing testing facilities, personal protective equipment, isolation beds, intensive care units beds, ventilators and training of paramedical staff.
The PM also urged citizens not to fall for rumours as superstition, and avoid taking medicines if symptoms appeared without medical advice, for it could jeopardise lives.
Soon after the PM spoke, the Union home ministry issued a notification and a set of guidelines detailing what would be permitted and the penalties for violations. “Hopefully the 21-day lockdown will cut down transmission and flatten the curve, but we should not make the mistake of assuming that the number of cases will not go up. It will,” said MC Misra, former director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and president and vice chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Jaipur. However, the lockdown could avoid a situation like Italy or Spain, he said.
