Published 12:14 IST, March 25th 2020
BREAKING: PM Modi's cabinet applies social distancing in first meet in COVID lockdown
The Union Cabinet met for a meeting at the Prime MInister's residence on Wednesday morning, the first since the 21-day Coronavirus lockdown was imposed
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The Union Cabinet met for a meeting at the Prime MInister's residence on Wednesday morning, the first since the 21-day Coronavirus lockdown was imposed. In the picture, the ministers can be seen applying social distancing.
PM leads by example
Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh can be seen on either side of PM Modi on the far side. Also visible are Ram Vilas Paswan, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
On the near side are key members of the PMO, namely Principal Secretary to the PM PK Mishra and NSA Ajit Doval. Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is also visible.
The Prime Minister had the previous evening told the country that it would be going into a 21-day lockdown to counter the Coronavirus threat.
In his address to the nation on Thursday, PM Modi stating that while India's economy will face a brunt, PM Modi said it was this responsibility to do this to save every Indian's life. Talking about how health experts stated that 21 days are necessary to ensure breaking the chain transmission, he said these 21 days were most crucial. Explaining the fallout for not handling the next three weeks as catastrophic, he said that 'India will be set back by 21 years if 21 days are not handled'.
He 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."
India has reported more than 560 cases of coronavirus with 11 people losing their lives.
11:59 IST, March 25th 2020