PM Modi Urges Citizens To Protect Themselves By Taking Lockdown Seriously

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to citizens of the country to take the lockdown announced by the government with the required seriousness. In a post on the microblogging site Twitter, PM Modi asked fellow citizens to follow government instructions, protect themselves and check the transmission of the deadly coronavirus.

Prime Minister frowned on some people who did not take the instructions issued by the government seriously. In his tweet, PM Modi said, "many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please follow instructions, save yourself and your family."

The total number of those infected by COVID-19 has now reached 416 including 8 deaths. The first case of coronavirus was reported in Kerala on January 30 when a student returning from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly virus, came back to her home state.

Over the past 7 weeks, this number of COVID-19 positive cases has risen sharply to over 400. Experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) state that this is the normal trajectory of the virus. India is now in a critical phase and therefore, social distancing and self-isolation play a key role, they point out.

80 districts across the country have been placed under lockdown and 13 states have also enforced a total lockdown in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Passenger trains and metro services have been suspended all over the country till March 31. Several states have banned the movement of non-essential vehicles and individual travel. International flights have already been suspended.