New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India’s holistic and integrated approach towards handling the coronavirus crisis were steps in the right direction and added that the country is in a “well-managed” position with respect to the spread of the disease.
In his address to the nation, Modi extended the nation-wide lockdown till May 3. The 21-day lockdown announced earlier was to end today.
“When we had only 550 Corona cases, then itself India had taken the big step of a 21-day complete lockdown. India did not wait for the problem to aggravate. Rather, we attempted to nip the problem in the bud itself, by taking quick decisions as soon as it arose,” the PM said in his address to the nation.
Modi added: “Long before we had even a single case of Corona, India had started screening travelers coming in from Corona affected countries at airports. Much before the number of Corona patients reached 100, India had made 14-day isolation mandatory for all those coming in from abroad. Malls, clubs and gyms were shut down in many places.”
“In such a crisis it is not right to compare our situation with any other country. However, it is also true that if we look at Corona-related figures in the world’s big, powerful countries, India today is in a very well-managed position,” he said.
“A month, month and a half ago, several countries had been at par with India in terms of Corona infection. But today, Corona cases in those countries are 25 to 30 times than that of India. Thousands of people have tragically died in those countries,” the Prime Minister added.
Calling India’s approach as ‘holistic and integrated’, the PM said that had India not taken quick and decisive action, the situation would have been different. “Had India not adopted a holistic and integrated approach, taking quick and decisive action; the situation in India today would have been completely different.”
He further said that the decisions India had taken were in the right direction. “It is clearly evident from the experience of the past few days, that we have chosen the correct path. Our country has greatly benefited from Social Distancing and Lockdown,” Modi remarked.
India’s total number of coronavirus positive cases rose to 10,363 including 8,988 active cases, 1,035 cured/discharged and 339 deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said earlier on Tuesday. (ANI)
