Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation today to update citizens on the COVID-19 outbreak and the government’s efforts to fight the pandemic. In his address, he extended the nationwide lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end today, to May 3. This decision came following consultation with ministries–including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare–and Chief Ministers. The Prime Minister said that there was a broad consensus with the Chief Ministers on the need to extend the lockdown by at least two weeks.
In today’s address, Modi said that India will take more stringent measures to contain COVID-19 in the upcoming week as new hotspots appear. He added that conditional relaxations will be made after April 20 to resume important activities in regions identified as “non-hotspots”. The detailed guidelines for these relaxations will be released tomorrow.
The PM praised the Indian government’s efforts, calling them “decisive”. He also applauded the Indian authorities for adopting a holistic and integrated approach, comparing it to responses by other, more developed countries.
He cited three actions taken by Indian authorities that characterise India’s unique and efficient response. The first was to screen flyers coming in from foreign countries even before the first case of COVID-19 in the country. Secondly, the government mandated a 14-day isolation period for all travelers coming in from international hotspots even before reaching the 100 case mark. This was complemented by closing public facilities like cinemas, theatres, and clubs. Lastly, he mentioned the decision of the 21-day lockdown and applauded this move for flattening the curve in India.
This is Prime Minister Modi’s third address over the last four weeks. In his first address on March 19, he proposed a day-long “Janata curfew” and imposed a complete lockdown, only barring those in essential services. On March 24, he announced the 21-day lockdown that was scheduled to end on April 14.
Image Source: DNA India