NEW DELHI, March 19 - Calling for �resolve and restraint� to fight coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked the entire country to observe �Janata curfew� on Sunday.
In a nearly 30-minute national broadcast, he asked people to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible while underscoring the dangers of coronavirus, saying the world has never seen a crisis as grave as this.
�Even World War I and II did not affect as many countries as coronavirus has done,� Modi said, asking people to avoid this mindset that the disease will not affect India much when it has hit hard many developed countries.
Amid incidents of people resorting to hoarding food items in panic, Modi said �panic-buying� must be avoided and essential things, including medicines, should not be hoarded, adding his government is working to ensure their supply.
He called for �Janata curfew� on March 22 from 7 am-9 pm, saying no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their house, and asserted that it will be a litmus test to show how much India is ready to take on the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.
This experience will serve the nation well, he added.
�This Sunday, that is on 22 March, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes, nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas. Only those associated with emergency and essential services may leave their homes,� he said.
Lauding the hard work of medical professionals, sanitation staff, airline crews, delivery persons and media personnel among others, Modi asked people to express gratitude to them by giving them a five-minute standing ovation at 5 pm on Sunday by clapping hands, beating plates or ringing out bells.
The prime minister began his address by highlighting the scale of corornavirus� impact and noted that there is a view that India has averted the crisis and all is well. � PTI
