Lockdown gone but not the virus, don’t let your guard down: PM Modi’s caution ahead of festivals

modi-oct20-twitterNEW DELHI : With the onset of the festival season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a cautious appeal to the nation, saying this is not the time to be careless as the novel coronavirus is still around and even a small negligence can dampen the festive spirit.
In his seventh address to the nation following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Modi said many videos have surfaced in recent times that show many people have stopped taking precautions. “This is not the right thing to do,” said PM Modi.

He said in the festival season, citizens must not forget that while the lock down is over, the corona virus is not. “This is not the time to be careless. This is not the time to think that corona is gone and the danger is over,” he cautioned in an address to the nation ahead of a series of festivals over the next few months.
He also said while India was at a better state than many other countries, it should not drop its guard. Until there is a vaccine, he said, no one can be complacent. The government is preparing a plan to make any vaccine available to all, said the Prime Minister, adding, “Dawai nahin to dhilai nahin (no laxity without cure).”

In his seventh address to the nation following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi said many videos have surfaced in recent times that show people have stopped taking precautions. “This is not the right thing to do so,” he said.
“If you are careless and moving around without mask, you are putting yourself, children and the elderly at risk,” the prime minister said. He added that it must be kept in mind that lockdown may have ended but the virus is still there. Modi said the government is making all efforts to ensure that a vaccine, whenever it is launched, reaches every Indian.
“I want to you to know that once we get a vaccine, everyone will get it in a planned, phased and fast manner. Till the time we get a vaccine, if we are even a little irresponsible, we can harm ourselves and all those around us.
“We have come a long way since the Janata curfew. Our recovery rate is among the highest in the world, the death rate is low. Out of every million, we have around 83 deaths. In other nations, it is around 600 deaths per million,” said the Prime Minister.

Experts have raised concerns that alongside the unlock rules, the festival season may lead to a surge in infections.India’s COVID-19 tally is close to 76 lakhs but for the first time in nearly three months, the country has recorded less than 50,000 new cases in a day. The health ministry reported 46,790 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, which takes the overall cases to 75,97,063.
The last time new Covid cases were below 50,000 was on July 23, when India recorded 45,720 new cases in a day.The government recently said the country has crossed its coronavirus peak as its daily average cases have tapered against a high of more than 90,000 daily cases logged in mid-September.
(With Agency Inputs ).

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