Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 14 April, announced that the coronavirus lockdown will be further extended till 3 May, during his address to the nation. He also added that the government will come out with extensive guidelines on Wednesday.
Modi said that strict monitoring will be done till 20 April, after which some conditional relaxations will be allowed in the areas where hotspots don’t emerge.
Before signing off, the prime minister also urged citizens to help out the government by doing the following seven things:
1. Taking care of the elderly and senior citizens
2. Using masks made at home
3. To maintain immunity follow the Ministry of AYUSH guidelines
4. Downloading Aarogya Setu App and urging others to use them too.
5. Taking care of the poor and needy and providing them the necessary assistance including food, medical aid etc. “We have kept in mind the interests of the poor and daily wage workers. The harvesting of rabi crops is also underway. The central and state governments are working together to ensure that farmers face minimum problems,” said PM Modi.
6. Not firing anyone from jobs: In his address, Modi told employers, “Be kind to people who work with you in your business and industry. Please don’t terminate your employees”.
7. Respecting people who are helping us in this crisis, like healthcare workers, sanitation workers, the police.
Modi also said that COVID-19 testing is being done in over 220 labs. “According to world’s experience of tackling COVID-19, 1,500-1,600 beds are needed when cases reach 10,000. We have over 1 lakh beds in India and over 600 hospitals for treating COVID patients. We’re expanding these facilities,” he said.
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