Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday appealed to the 1.3bn population to follow a one-day curfew alongside a ban on international flight arrivals to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Modi said in an address to the nation that the curfew on Sunday from 7am to 9pm would test the country’s ability to take tough measures against what he called a growing “crisis”. The measure would be “in the interest of the country to follow and prepare us for future challenges.”
The government says there have been 173 infections and four deaths from the virus.
But the public is increasingly anxious and there has been a rush on food stores and essential supplies.
Modi said most people, except those in essential services, would have to stay home for several weeks, without giving a timeframe.
“If you feel you won’t be affected or infected, you are wrong,” Modi said.
“You will be endangering your family and the community and I request every citizen to stay home for the next few weeks.”
India must fight to avoid the “explosion” in deaths seen in other countries.
The 29-minute address came hours after the government said no international flights would be allowed to land in India for one week starting Sunday.
All citizens above 65 and children under 10 were advised to remain at home, Modi said.
States were also directed by the government to force companies and department to make staff work from home.
Some government employees are set to stagger their shifts and alternate working in the office.
Modi yesterday also asked the nation to acknowledge with gratitude the services of countless health and services personnel leading the battle against the pandemic.
In his address to the nation, the prime minister appealed to all citizens to “come out of their homes at 5pm on March 22 and applaud for five minutes, the doctors, nurses, sanitation personnel, transport services personnel and all other people who disregard their own health safety for our lives.”
The government has already suspended the visas of all foreign tourists and barred passengers of flights from the worst-hit European nations.
Travellers from several countries are also subject to a 14-day quarantine when they arrive in India.
Most schools and entertainment facilities, including cinemas, have already been shut across India, the world’s second-most populous country.
The Taj Mahal and other monuments have also been closed to visitors.
Meanwhile, with one more death reported from Punjab, the death toll from coronavirus in the country has reached four.
The earlier three deaths were reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The death reported from Punjab was of an elderly man who had a travel history to Germany and Italy.
The 79-year-old man died at a civil hospital in Banga town in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district owing to a heart failure, officials said, adding that after his death, he was diagnosed coronavirus positive.
The area around the victim’s village has been sealed. A doctor who treated him has been quarantined.
His relatives and friends, whom he had come in contact with, are being quarantined.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/3bcWjQE
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