Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the nation for the fourth time since the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Addressing the nation, he said that the lockdown will go until May 3, 2020.
Addressing the nation, PM Modi said that the nation has to ensure that more hotspots aren't formed. "Till 20th April, all districts, localities, states will be closely monitored, as to how strictly they are implementing norms. States which will not let hotspots increase, they could be allowed to let some important activities resume, but with certain conditions," the PM said.
While talking about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, PM Modi said that India was one of the first contries to start screening at airports. "Before the global numbers touched 100, we began isolating people for 14 days. We had shut public places before India's numbers began rising. When the global numbers were 550, we put forth the 21-day lockdown," the PM said.
While talking about how India has tackled the virus, PM Modi said that nations that were on par with India, but the number of cases manifolded then. "We attribute it to the holistic approach put by the government, and if it was not for this, it's scary to think what would have happened in India," the PM said.
PM Modi said social distancing and lockdown has been advantage to India, albeit at a cost. "However, nothing can compromise the lives of the people of India," he added.
While speaking on the spread of the virus, PM Modi said that health experts and governments are still trying to figure out how to move ahead. "We need to figure how to beat the virus and move on with our lives," he said.
This speech comes after PM Modi had a discussion with Chief Ministers of the country on Saturday to discuss the course of action to tackle the coronavirus pandemic that has put India on hold. During that meeting, many CMs were for the idea of extending the lockdown to April 30, with some of them even going ahead and announcing the same.
Earlier, the first two speeches were live and the third one was a pre-recorded. While the first speech spoke of the Janta Curfew, the second speech addressed a 21-day lockdown period. The third speech was when he requested the people of India to stand united to dispel the darkness by lighting diyas and candles.
