Coronavirus cases in India rise to 519
PM says need to keep fighting spirit of people up to halt the pandemic
New Delhi, Mar 24 : Coronavirus cases in the country rose to 519 and one more death from the infection was reported on Tuesday taking the toll to ten, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is imperative to keep the fighting spirit of the people up to stop the pandemic in its march.
As 32 states and union territories imposed complete lockdown till March 31, the Centre asked them to clamp curfew wherever necessary in the wake of people defying lockdown orders .
Cases were booked against hundreds of people in different parts of the country including in Delhi for violating prohibitory orders. In Hyderabad, police said it had to resort to mild caning against the violators.
With the lockdown hitting the Indian industry hard and causing job losses, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters an economic package to help tide over the crisis will be announced very soon.
Prime Minister Modi while interacting with senior journalists from the print media via video links said citizens need to be assured that the government is committed to countering the impact of COVID-19.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO), Modi said it is critical to improve social cohesion to safeguard national security.
During the interaction, Modi emphasised the need to tackle the spread of pessimism, negativity and rumour-mongering.
“He underlined the importance of social distancing, asking media to generate awareness about its importance, inform people about the lockdown decision by states, and also highlight the impact of spread of the virus through inclusion of international data and case studies about other countries in the papers,” said a statement issued by the PMO.
