India’s battle against Covid-19 becomes a people-driven movement: Modi
India's battle against Covid-19 pandemic has become "a people-driven movement" as they are rising to the occasion to help each other, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.
"India's fight against Covid-19 is people-driven. Every Indian is a soldier in this fight. This people-driven fight against the virus would be discussed in the future," he said in his monthly address to the nation over All India Radio.
The death toll across India due to Covid-19 rose to 824 today and the number of positive cases climbed to 26,496, our New Delhi correspondent reports, quoting an Indian Health Ministry update this morning.
"A city or a village, everywhere we can see people involved in the fight against the pandemic. While some are feeding the poor, others are selling land to raise money for this fight, yet others are contributing their pension," Modi said. "Among the topmost priorities is to help the poor and vulnerable."
Modi said India's decision to supply medicines to other countries that needed them amid the pandemic was guided by its ethos.
"Today, when world leaders tell me -- Thank you India, thank you the people of India, I feel very proud," he said, adding that India is caring for its own citizens and contributing towards creating a healthier planet.
The Indian PM exhorted the people to give up the habit of spitting in public places and said this would increase basic hygiene and strengthen the fight against COVID-19.
"We, in India, always knew that spitting in public places is wrong. Yet, it continued in places. Now is the best time to ensure we do not spit," Modi said.
He also suggested that wearing a mask has to become a habit. It does not mean the person wearing a mask is unwell, it is just a wise precaution, Modi said.
Among the welcome changes in the post-coronavirus crisis is the awareness on the need to wear masks. A mask is something we will have to keep wearing in the times to come, he added.
The prime minister had announced a three-week lockdown that began on March 25 and extended it to May 3.
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