Coronavirus: India declares 21-day complete lockdown
India witnesses 21 days complete lockdown starting Tuesday midnight. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this announcement, while addressing the nation on Covid-19 for the second time on Tuesday at 8pm.
In his speech to the nation today, he said, “It our duty to protect every citizen. I request all people to remain wherever they are. This lockdown is for three weeks, that is, 21 days.”
“If we fail to contain this pandemic, we will face catastrophe and will be 21 years behind. So mark a Lakshman Rekha (red line) outside your house and take a pledge not to step out of it.”
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He asked people to take this disease seriously and maintain social distancing.
“All experts say only one thing: we can fight against Corona by maintaining – social distancing. Some think social distancing has to be maintained only with patients, but it’s not the case. We have to maintain social distancing with all,” he said.
He gave reference to the health experts to say that the virus takes several days to show its symptoms. “The person who has contracted, feels healthy for many days. In the meantime, he comes in contact with others and infects them.”
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“Health services in Italy and US are considered the best, but they failed to control this pandemic,” he said, adding, “But where is the light? So, the experiences from a few other countries have raised our hopes. They paid heed to their government’s instructions and advices. They maintained social distancing.”
“We too have to break the spread chain of this virus by being inside our houses. It is the time to stand for our resolve and promise.”
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The Prime Minister called upon people to pray for those who are working to sanitise our houses, working at hospitals to treat patients, mediapersons who keep us informed all time, and security personnel who take care of our safety.
He said the govt will ensure that all essential commodities are available in ample amount. “There’s a need to help poors in this hour of crisis. But there’s also a greater need to protect our lives.”
“In order to strengthen health infrastructure,” Modi says, “we have allocated a amount of Rs 15,000 crore.”
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He also called upon the entrepreneurs to come forward to provide help in this crisis. “The state governments should provide all their focus to get out of crisis.”
He lauded countrymen for coming together to make the Janata Curfew a grand sucess on Sunday (March 22). “We showed the world how we fight against a human crisis,” he said.
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He concluded by saying, “I am confident all countrymen will not only fight this disease with resolve, but will also come out successfully.”
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