PM Modi announces all-India lockdown over Covid-19, will be in place for 21 days

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced complete lockdown of the entire country, as part of government’s stringent efforts to tackle coronavirus disease Covid-19.

“Today, I am going to announce a very important measure in our fight against Covid-19. The entire country will be under lockdown from today. The complete lockdown will come into effect from midnight tonight,” PM Modi said in his address to the nation.

This lockdown will be in place for 21 days, he added.

This is the second time in a week when he addressed the country on the fast-spreading disease with flu-like symptoms that has infected more than 3.5 lakh people and killed over 16,000.

In a television address last Thursday, PM Modi had highlighted the threat posed by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, and appealed to people to practise social distancing and work from home.

He had also asked Indians to observe ‘Janta Curfew’, a self-imposed restraint measure to keep themselves and others in the society safe.

The Janta Curfew was in place for 14 hours on Sunday - from 7 am to 9 pm. And, as advised by the Prime Minister, people stayed off the roads and public places during this period.

PM Modi had also apprised the nation of an emergency task force to mitigate the economic challenges stemming from the crisis.