People came out onto their balconies and stood near open windows to clap, clang metal vessels and ring bells yesterday to cheer emergency workers battling the spread of the coronavirus during a nationwide lockdown.
They were joined by President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cabinet ministers, chief ministers and other politicians
Modi had asked citizens to stay indoors for a voluntary dawn-to-dusk curfew, but said they should make noise at 5pm (1130GMT) to show their appreciation for medics, nurses and sanitation workers.
People responded by blowing conch shells, singing patriotic songs and banging drums.
Outside, the usually bustling streets were quiet.
The largest public ‘appreciation’ exercise in the country also witnessed the participation of the army, paramilitary forces, Bollywood personalities, television anchors and religious personage.
The coronavirus warriors, like health professionals and others, are taking care of ailing people and performing their duties of sanitising trains and other public facilities in the country’s fight against coronavirus.
Many had planned early by sharing recordings of drum beats, conch, bells and trumpets to be played on speakers.
Some had carried out noisy rehearsals on Saturday evening.
Modi described the 14-hour curfew as a test to assess the country’s ability to fight the pandemic.
“This is the start of a long fight,” Modi tweeted yesterday as the curfew came to an end.
“The people of this country have announced it today that we can take on and defeat as big a challenge as possible if we decide.”
Many of his supporters praised the celebrations.
Some even went as far as saying the positive energy would help push back the virus - though the government quickly put out messages on Twitter saying the display of gratitude would have no impact on the virus’s spread.
“Mr Modi is creating energy medicine through you,” wellness coach Vedantika Puri said in a video on Instagram.
Others called for more concrete action.
“There was no announcement of special services that the central government will offer or initiatives that they would take to tackle the economic crash that the country will experience soon,” a Twitter user with the handle @ambedkaright said. “Just clap!”
“The enemy is there, invisible and elusive...We are trying to defeat it. We are at war, a public health war certainly,” schoolteacher Sumita Dutta said in Kolkata as she clapped her hands in front of her home.
South Asia is the world’s most densely populated region, while India has an overburdened public health system that suffers from a lack of doctors and hospitals.
Experts warn that the country would not escape the highly infectious disease.
“We are in for a very long fight,” warned virologist Shahid Jameel of biomedical research charity Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance.
In Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of the world’s biggest slums, residents said there was growing fears about the virus.
“We live by adjusting with each other in small confined spaces. But now we are not allowed to step out at all and police officials are enforcing it strictly. So it’s a challenging situation,” Raju Shaikh said.
lTamil Nadu yesterday reported three more coronavirus positive cases, taking to total in the state to nine.
State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said a 64-year-old woman, who travelled from California, is under isolation at the Stanley Medical College in Chennai and a 43-year-old man who had returned from Dubai is under isolation at Tirunelveli Medical College. The third is a traveller from Spain.
According to him, two Thai nationals who had tested positive are undergoing treatment at Perundurai Medical College after which the government put Erode district under a lockdown.
Three Tamil Nadu districts - Chennai, Kancheepuram and Erode - and Mahe in Puducherry have been included in the central government’s list of 75 districts where only essential services will be operational till March 31.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/3agxPWw
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