Modi’s Speech About COVID-19

Twinkle Sethia

March 20, 2020

As the country grapples with coronavirus, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation. Last night at 8:00pm from the national capital, he spoke about the precautions we as citizens need to take.

Emphasizing on the fact that the world has never seen a danger as grave as this, Modi stated that the country and government is leaving no stone unturned to overcome this menace. Certainly, the need of the hour is to be alert and vigilant.

Modi made an appeal to all the Indians to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid getting infected by coronavirus. He has urged all the elderly above the age of 65 to not venture out of their homes for a few weeks. They are the easiest ones to be affected by COVID-19.

Also, Modi has called for a total lockdown in India or in his words, ‘Janta Curfew’ on 22 March between 7:00 am and 9:00 pm, saying no citizen barring those in essential services like hospitals should get out of their house. And on the same day, at 5:00pm he has a special request from everyone. The PM wants the citizens to applaud the selfless work of essential services personnel by clapping, ringing bells or making noise with kitchen utensils. One can do this by hearing a government siren that will be heard by everyone at 5:00pm on Sunday.

Since there is no cure for coronavirus as of yet, Modi wants everyone to practice social distancing. He requests everyone to work from home and get out only if it’s absolutely needed. One should not get into panic buying under these circumstances, which will just create chaos.

In terms of the economy, under the guidance of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government has created a COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force to help the citizens and stakeholders. By reviewing and getting feedback from economists in regard to the damage done to the economy, the government will take steps in favour of the citizens.

Watch the full speech of Narendra Modi: