Newsroom24x7 Network

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday 20 April 2021 addressed the nation on the COVID-19 situation and said “in today’s situation, we have to save the country from lockdown”.

The PM especially told the States to try and avoid lockdown and ensure they use lockdown as the “last option”.

According to the Prime Minister, the focus is on containing COVID through the Micro Containment Zones.

The effort of all of us is not only to save lives, but also to ensure that economic activities and livelihoods are minimally affected, the PM said.

Today the country is fighting a very big battle against Corona. A few weeks ago, the conditions had stabilized, and then we have the second wave of Corona, the PM said.

Addressing Children directly, Modi said “create such an atmosphere at home that people without work, without reason, do not leave the house”.

“Your stubbornness can bring huge results”, he told the children.

Modi asked the yoind generation to help make COVID bring about discipline in their society, by making small committees in apartments and housing clusters.

If we do this then governments will not need to create a containment zones, neither impose curfew nor go for a lockdown, the PM emphasised.

Modi urged the States to keep the trust of the workers alive and said, the administration will have to urge them to stay where they are.

By maintaining this trust among the workers, the states will help in carrying forward the task of vaccinating all in the next few days and in the process their work will not stop.

On vaccination, the PM said, from May 1 onwards, anyone above 18 years of age can be vaccinated. By opening vaccination to all above the age of 18, the vaccine available in the cities will become increasingly available. Now half of the vaccine that will be made in India will also be directly delivered to the states and hospitals.

India has been the fastest when it comes to 10 million, then 11 million and now 12 million vaccine doses, the PM said adding it is a team effort that enabled our India to launch the world’s largest vaccination campaign with two made in India vaccines.

The PM went on to point out how the scientists have developed vaccines for the citizens in a very short time, day and night. Today, the cheapest vaccine in the world is available in India. Besides we have a vaccine suited to India’s cold chain system.

Modi further said measures are also being taken at several levels to increase oxygen production and supply. There are new oxygen plants in the states, one lakh new cylinders to be delivered, oxygen used in industrial units, medical use, oxygen rail, every effort is being made.

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