Addressing the nation in a televised speech, Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi extended the nation-wide lockdown till May 3, 2020, which will be stricter than the lockdown 1.0.
Making the lockdown 2.0 official, the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi today, i.e., Tuesday, April 14, 2020 extended the nation-wide lockdown till May 3, 2020.
#Lockdown extended in India till May 3;
— PIB India 🇮🇳 #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) April 14, 2020
KEY SEVEN from Prime Minister @narendramodi‘s address to the nation as #IndiaFightsCorona with #LockDown2#IndiaFightsCOVID19 pic.twitter.com/7Z8ZjFmXLV
Addressing the nation in a televised speech, Modi also said that lockdown 2.0 will be stricter than the lockdown 1.0. He iterated that extension of lockdown is necessary to contain the spread of pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Address to the nation. https://t.co/26sVP2br5n
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2020
Till April 20, 2020, the Government will closely monitor the efforts of States is fighting the pandemic and the number of cases. If the results are good and the Sates have been able to contain the spread of pandemic, the Central Government may allow certain relaxations on lockdown restrictions, subject to conditions in those States.
However, if after relaxation, the condition worsens, the relaxations will be rolled back and complete restrictions will be placed back. Detailed guidelines on the same will be announced tomorrow, i.e., Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
Modi said, “Till April 20, all districts, localities, states will be closely monitored, as to how strictly they are implementing norms. States where hotspots are contained could be allowed to resume some important activities, but with certain conditions.”
The move is aimed at ensuring livelihood of daily wage workers across India. Modi ensured the countrymen that there are enough medicines and ration and people don’t have to worry about essentials. He also said that supply chain problem regarding transport of essentials has also been solved.
In terms of healthcare infrastructure, India has made a remarkable progress. There are 220 labs for testing the pandemic. As per estimates, a country must have 1,500-1,600 beds if the number of patients reach 10,000. Presently, India has 1 lac beds ready to for COVID-19 patients. India has more than 600 dedicated hospitals only for COVID-19 across the country.
In addition, Modi also highlighted a 7-point focus area. These include:
- People should take care of elders at home, especially those with illness
- Lockdown 2.0 will be more severe and people should compulsorily use homemade masks
- People should follow the guidelines of Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) for making their immunity stronger
- People should download set-up the Aarogya Setu App and encourage others also
- Feed the poor people
- Be compassionate to workers and don’t fire them form their job
- Respect the COVID-19 warriors such as Doctors, nurses, policemen and cleaners
During his speech, he also expressed concerns over the problems people are facing due to lockdown. He appreciated the people for following lockdown as India had made considerable progress in containing the pandemic.
Talking about the Government’s efforts, Modi said that India started screening of COVID-19 before there was a single case in the country. India had started screening at Airports with compulsory 14 days isolation for those coming from abroad.
Modi further said, “You have been a witness to how India has fought coronavirus as compared to other countries.”
He also said that it is unfair to compare India with any other country. However, we cannot deny some realities that India has done a good job in containing the pandemic as compared to other developed nations.
Presently, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India is 10,363 and there have been 339 casualties.
