Andhra Pradesh CM urges people to stand united in nation's fight against COVID-19

As the number of COVID-19 cases grew sharply, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday urged the people to stand united in these challenging times confronting the nation. Referring to the media reports and social media reactions on the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, Reddy said that it should be seen as an "unfortunate incident and not as an intentional one." In a video message, he urged the people to participate in the fight as Indians.

Reddy said: "We all should stand united in these tough times, and show the spirit of unity. That is what even Prime Minister Narendra Modi intended." 

"A few days ago, a religious congregation was held in Delhi and the virus spread among Indians and the people of our state. But one should not consider this as an intentional one. It is an unfortunate incident," Reddy added.

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'COVID-19 not attributed to any religion'

The Andhra Pradesh CM said that Coronavirus should not be used to brand any particular religion. He added that the disease would not spare anyone on the basis of caste, religion or region. 

"Coronavirus cannot be attributed to any specific religion or caste and see them as culprits. Nobody should project this as a crime committed intentionally by a group of persons. Such attempts are very unfortunate, and they won't be good in showing our unity," he added.

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Reddy said that in this fight, the enemy of humans is the virus, which invisible to the naked eye. He invited people to join in the initiative called by PM Modi to light up lamps for 9 minutes at 9 pm on April 5. He said that the lamps will signify the unity among people against COVID-19. 

The number of Coronavirus cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz stands at 1,032 so far, constituting nearly 30% of all COVID-19 cases in the country, the Union Health Ministry informed on Saturday. The total number of positive cases in India has soared by 601 in the last 24 hours. 

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(With inputs from ANI)