‘Unnecessary travels will not help you, stay home’: PM Modi’s appeal as Covid-19 cases rise

india

Updated: Mar 21, 2020 17:21 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again urged people on Saturday avoid leaving home and follow instructions to “protect you as well as your friends and family” as the number of Covid-19 patients jumped to 271 in India.

The Prime Minister has already called upon people to follow a Janta Curfew on Sunday by not venturing out from 7am to 9pm on Sunday.

He said that this will be a symbol of “self-control”, adding that every person of the country should choose 10 people and inform them - through phones etc - about this and urge them to stay at home.

On Saturday, he repeated his appeal.

“Never forget - precautions not panic! It’s not only important to be home but also remain in the town/ city where you are. Unnecessary travels will not help you or others. In these times, every small effort on our part will leave a big impact,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

Modi also asked people to follow government advisories about following home quarantine as reports of those advised to stay at home travelling on trains and other public transport rose.

“This is the time we should all listen to the advice given by doctors and authorities. All those who have been told to stay in home quarantine, I urge you to please follow the instructions. This will protect you as well as your friends and family,” he tweeted.

The Prime Minister’s tweets also came as the Indian Railways asked people to defer their train journeys pointing to those asked to remain in quarantine found travelling.

“Railways has found some cases of Coronavirus infected passengers in trains which makes train travel risky. PLEASE avoid train travel as you may also get infected if your co-passenger has Coronavirus. Please postpone all journeys and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.*

The ministry of railways said earlier two people found travelling on Rajdhani Express between Bengaluru and Delhi were asked to get down on Saturday.

The Delhi-bound passengers had returned from Dubai last week and were marked with the mandatory quarantine stamp.

The railways also said that four passengers travelling on Godan Express from Mumbai to Jabalpur on March 16 tested positive for Sar-Cov-2 on Friday. Before that, eight passengers, who had travelled on the AP Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi to Ramagundam on March 13, were found to be infected.

The government has taken a slew of measures to contain the spread of the deadly respiratory disease, including shutting down schools and colleges and public places, to stem the spread of Sars-Cov-2.

Several states have also locked themselves down and asked people to stay at home.