PM Modi announces nationwide 21-day lockdown, appeals for social distancing

The nationwide lockdown came into effect from Wednesday midnight and will continue until April 14. "Co-ro-na yaani koi road par na nikle," the prime minister said displaying a placard in Hindi

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day nationwide “curfew”, or a lockdown, to contain the spread of COVID-19. He appealed to the people “with folded hands” to practise strict social distancing.

Subsequent to the PM’s speech, the Union home ministry, in an unprecedented move, announced shutting down all government and private establishments, apart from those involved in essential services, and all modes of transport, during the duration of the lockdown.

The PM said unless India’s 1.3 billion people practised social distancing, and the “chain of its spread not broken” within these 21 days, the coronavirus outbreak could push the