Narendra Modi Live: PM Modi Asks Country For Show Of Solidarity, This Time With Candles

This Sunday we have to fight the darkness of coronavirus with the light, said PM Modi.

He asked citizens to turn all lights off in the house at 9 P.M., only to stand at their doors or windows with a candle, diya, torch, etc - for nine minutes.

He, however, reminded and warned citizens to not gather on the streets and maintain social distancing. This was likely in response to March 22 when a number of citizens took to the streets, breaking the rule of social distancing, to celebrate and clap for those at the frontline of the fight against coronavirus.

“This (social distancing) is the only ‘ram ban’ (Ram arrow) to fight this disease...There is no force larger than our spirit, there is no battle we can’t win using this spirit,” he said.

• Indians must be commended for the discipline shown under coronavirus lockdown
• The way we clapped for service providers on March 22 has been replicated in many countries. They are the backbone of the country. We have understood that this country can unite and fight together.
• I can see your patience is running out. Anyone can feel what will they do by themselves. Some will think how can they fight this fight alone. How many days will we live like this.
• This might be the time of lockdown and we might be restricted to our houses but we are not alone in this. Every citizen is there with you. Remind yourself of the strength of this unity.
• We have to keep fighting so that we can see the light at the end of this tunnel
• We have to help the poor in this country to fight this battle

Just yesterday, Modi conducted his second video conference call with state chief ministers, to coordinate the fight against Covid-19 infections.

Checking the spread of the novel coronavirus, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the focus in the next few weeks, Modi said to them, according to a PTI report. He added that it is necessary to ensure the availability of separate and dedicated hospital facilities for Covid-19 patients and that it is important to formulate an exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends.

The lockdown is slated to end on April 14. However, the rise in cases and emergence of hotspots across the country have led to some doubt on that.

On March 30, the central government had assured citizens that it has no plans of extending the lockdown, but the country has reported more than 800 cases since.

The first such video call between the Prime Minister and state chief ministers happened on March 20. He announced the lockdown four days later.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share a video message for India’s citizens on social media platform Twitter at 9 a.m. today.

This message comes amid the tenth day of the three-week lockdown announced by Modi in a television address on March 24. Since then, cases have nearly quadrupled, hitting the 2,000-mark yesterday.

Globally, Covid-19 cases have crossed the one-million mark worldwide. More than 51,000 have died while 208,000 recovered in what has become the biggest global public health crisis of the time.