AGENCIES, New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 21-day nationwide lockdown of India as a “comprehensive and robust” response to the raging coronavirus pandemic has found appreciation from the United Nations (UN). The UN has expressed solidarity with India in its fight against coronavirus as globally, the death toll from the coronavirus has mounted to 18,915 with more than 422,900 cases reported in over 165 countries and territories, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The number of coronavirus cases in India has cross 500 with 11 Covid-19 deaths reported so far.
In an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus in India, Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday announced a nationwide lockdown for three weeks.
“United Nations stands in solidarity with India in its fight against COVID-19, said a video message tweeted by United Nations News on Tuesday, the UN’s multimedia news service.
The video also took note of the ‘Janta Curfew’ observed across India on Sunday, when the country’s 1.3 billion citizens stayed at home from 7 am to 9 pm in an effort to practise social distancing.
Heeding to a call by Modi, people came out on their balconies, windows and courtyards to applaud the selfless work of medical professionals on the frontlines in the fight against Covid-19.
The normally bustling streets across India wore a deserted look throughout the day as people participated in the curfew. The UN News video showed footage of empty roads and urban spaces on Sunday, just two days before Modi announced the nationwide lockdown for three weeks.
“India is on a 21-day lockdown to try and prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from taking hold. The @UN health agency @WHO urged the Gov to take ‘aggressive action’, UN News tweeted.
Speaking at press briefing in Geneva on Monday, WHO Emergencies Programme Director Mike Ryan had said that it was important for India to ramp up measures at public health and societal level to control and suppress the disease.
“India is a hugely populous country. The future of this pandemic will be determined by what happens to densely-populated countries,” he said.
Ryan said India, the world’s second most populous country, had a tremendous capacity to deal with the coronavirus outbreak as it has the experience of eradicating the small-pox and polio through targeted public intervention.
