Greeting citizens on the occassion of Chaitra Navratri as the nation remains in a 21-day lockdown, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday appealed to people to 'stay home and stay safe' to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
"Heartfelt greetings to all of you on Chaitra Navratri, the festival of worship of Mother Durga. Mother protect everyone. A very Happy Ugadi, Gudi Padva, Sajibu Cheiraoba to everyone! Please stay home, stay safe and keep smiling!
As per the Gregorian calendar, Chaitra Navratri typically falls around March or April. Chaitra is the first month of Hindu lunar calendar and all nine days during Navratri are dedicated to nine forms of Goddess Shakti.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday confirmed 539 positive cases of coronavirus in the country.
"A total of 539 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases," said the ICMR in a statement.
A total of 22,928 samples from 22,038 individuals have been tested for SARS-CoV2 as on March 25 at 10 am, it said.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi said that it is vital to break the chain of the disease and experts have said that at least 21 days are needed for it.
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