More on Covid-19

NEW DELHI: Underlining that the fight against Coronavirus is one between life and death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday apologised for inconvenience and hardship caused to people due to lockdown and said there was no other option to fight a war against COVID-19 in a country of over 130 crore people.Assuring people during his monthly radio address, ‘ Mann Ki Baat ’, that India would win this war against coronavirus, Modi, however, sought utmost cooperation from them, asking for strictly adhering to the lockdown guidelines as it would be the only way to save them and their family members.“Stay at home with your family, be careful and safe, we need to win this battle. And, we will win”, said the Prime Minister in the radio programme where he dedicated the entire 36-minutes of his speech and interactions on the issue of the global pandemic.In context of the current lockdown, he rued that there were some people who overstepped the law and broke rules deliberately as they were not “trying to understand the gravity of the matter”.“I will say to them that if they don’t comply with the lockdown rule, it will be difficult to save ourselves from the scourge of the Coronavirus. The world over, many people nursed this delusion….all of them are regretting now,” said the Prime Minister, referring to countries which lost many lives. He, however, did not take name of such countries during ‘Mann Ki Baat’.“Health is the only way to happiness in the world,” said Modi while seeking to drive home a point that why it was of utmost necessity for everyone across the country to keep themselves inside their homes during the lockdown period which will last till April 14, as per the current order.During ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the Prime Minister also interacted with two COVID-19 survivors (one each from Hyderabad and Agra) who have now fully recovered from the virus after being tested positive and two doctors (one each from Delhi and Pune) who have been working relentlessly along with several other doctors, nurses and para-medical staff across the country to defeat the pandemic.PM Modi said, “We are able to fight a battle on such a massive scale, only on account of the zeal and grit of frontline warriors like you...be it Doctor, a nurse, a paramedic, Aasha, an ANM (Auxiliary nurse midwife) worker or sanitation worker.”PM Modi said the country was also concerned about their health. “Keeping that in mind , for around 20 lakh colleagues from these fields, the government has announced a health insurance cover of up to Rs 50 lakh, so that in this battle, you can lead the country with greater self confidence,” he said.Noting the coincidence that the world is celebrating year 2020 as the International year of the Nurse and Midwife, Modi said the “selfless spirit of service” by nurses was beyond compare.“Dedicated to the spirit of service of every nurse in the world, this year has come as a challenging examination for the entire Nursing community...I believe, all of you will not only clear the exam successfully, but will also save many lives,” said the Prime Minister while calling nurses “embodiment of humanity”.The Prime Minister in the programme expressed his anguish over reports where some of those who were suspected to have coronavirus and asked to stay in home quarantine are being ill-treated by others.“I am greatly pained to learn of these instances. This is very unfortunate. We need to understand that in the current circumstances, we need to ensure social distance, not human or emotional distance. These people are not criminals. They are merely suspected to be infected with the virus. These people have isolated and quarantined themselves to protect other people from getting infected,” said the Prime Minister.During interaction with the Prime Minister in the radio programme, the survivors (IT professional Ramagampa Teja of Hyderabad and 73-year-old Ashok Kapoor of Agra) narrated how well they were attended to by doctors and nurses once they tested positive.The doctors during interaction with PM Modi spoke about importance of home quarantine, self isolation and efforts which were being made to fight the pandemic across the country.