COVID-19 update: India begins preparations in case coronavirus pandemic enters Stage 3

NEW DELHI: India is gearing up with infrastructure and measures in case the country enters Stage 3 of the coronavirus pandemic.

Stage 3 arrives when community transmission begins and the source of infection isn’t known.

Stage 2, which is now our current phase, is when local transmissions occur.

Stage 1 takes place when the cases that show up are mostly imported.

So far India has reported 902 cases of coronavirus infection. 20 people have died so far.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared a 21-day-long complete lock-down for the entire country till April 14 to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The lock-down will come into effect from 12am tonight. In his second address on the unprecedented menace, the Prime Minister said that all people should obey the government’s instruction for their own safety. Otherwise, the country will move backwards by 21 years, he warned. Citing the crises currently faced by Italy and the USA due to the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus Modi said, “I appeal to all our citizens with folded hands not to come out from their homes as the situation is very very alarming. We will fight against the pandemic and win against it. But for that your co-operation is necessary. We must break the virus chain.”

The PM addressed the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday for the second time on the pandemic. On Thursday last week, he addressed the nation on the issue for the first time. He addressed the nation for the second time when the coronavirus pandemic claimed the lives of 10 people and infected more than five hundred people across the country. In a serious tone, the PM said that all people except those who are employed in emergency services like health-care, media, police, fire etc., should stay indoors till April 14,2020 to help contain the outbreak of the dreaded virus. “Everybody should act responsibly. The future of the country depends on you. You may treat the lock-down as a curfew,” he added.

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