Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his seventh address to the nation since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, urged the people of the country to exercise utmost caution as the festive season approaches.
PM Modi said that India's COVID-19 statistics may be better than several other countries, but people cannot afford to let their guard down. He said that COVID-19 fatality rate in India is 83 for one million population, while the figure is more than 600 in countries like USA, Brazil, Spain. He also said that India has more than 90 lakh beds for COVID-19 patients, 12,000 quarantine centres and more than 2,000 labs to test the samples.
Despite the positives, Modi said that people should continue to strictly follow the guidelines, especially during the upcoming festive season. He reminded everybody that the lockdown may be over but the COVID-19 threat exists.
Modi also lauded the doctors, nurses and health workers for their selfless efforts in fighting the pandemic. He said that even a small negligence on the part of the citizens will undo all the good work done till now, and will put the elders and children in their families at risk.
Modi also said that concerted efforts are going around the world to produce a vaccine for the virus, and India is very much in the race. He assured the citizens that once the vaccine is ready, it will be reach every Indian as early as possible.
The prime minister wished the citizens ahead of the festive season and urged them to ring in the festivities following all the guidelines and protocols.
