Download the all-new Republic app:

Published 07:56 IST, March 25th 2020

Rijiju announces closure of all sports camps; asks athletes to keep fit wherever they are

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Tuesday, Mar 24, that all sports camps and centres will be closed across the country during the 21-day lockdown.

Reported by: Devarshi mankad
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
null | Image: self
Advertisement

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday, March 25, stated that all sports camps across the country will be shut during the 21-day lockdown. Rijiju's announcement comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his televised speech on Tuesday announced a nationwide lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19. 

READ: Coronavirus Outbreak: PM Modi Announces 21-day Pan-India Lockdown Starting From Midnight

Advertisement

'All sports camps shut'

READ: Coronavirus: ICMR Predicts Delay In 'community Transmission' By 3 Weeks Due To Quarantine

Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Rijiju announced that all sports camps and centres will be closed across the country while he urged the athletes to maintain physical and mental fitness wherever they are staying with stepping out.

Advertisement

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, PM Modi stated that while India's economy will face a slowdown, it was this responsibility to try and save every Indian's life. Talking about how health experts have advised that the next 21 days are important to break the chain transmission of the deadly virus, the prime minister said the three weeks were most crucial.

Explaining the fallout for not handling the next three weeks could be catastrophic, PM Modi said that 'India will be set back by 21 years if 21 days are not handled'. 

Advertisement

PM Modi added, "As per health experts, a period of at least 21 days is extremely critical to break infection chain of coronavirus. If the situation is not handled in these 21 days, the country and your family could go back 21 years. If situation is not handled in these 21 days, several families will get devastated forever. Hence, you must forget what going out means for the next 21 days. Stay inside your home, stay inside your home, and do just one thing- stay inside your home."

READ: Here Are Services That Will Remain Operational And Suspended Under The 21-day Lockdown

Advertisement

READ: BIG: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Postponed To Next Year Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

07:56 IST, March 25th 2020