Vice president urges people to follow 'janta curfew' on Sunday

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has appealed to citizens to observe a "Janta curfew" on Sunday, March 22 as a test run for social distancing over the next few days to fight the spread of coronavirus. As part of the self-curfew, the Vice President said everyone must stay home from 7 am to 9 pm that day and abide by it.

New Delhi:Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday made a "fervent" appeal to the people of the country to confine themselves to homes on Sunday during ''Janta curfew'' to effectively contain the spread of coronavirus.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for observing ''Janta curfew'' this Sunday, he said since the virus spreads through physical contact, social distancing is an effective measure to contain its spread by avoiding contact during the incubation period of the virus.

Naidu said in effect it means ''caring for yourself and others'' through social distancing which is being principally advocated by the medical experts and WHO. The vice president urged the political parties, civil society organisations and others to rise to the occasion to collectively combat the challenge posed to the nation by the pandemic.

He said it is the responsibility of every citizen to educate and motivate others towards meeting the challenge.

"I fervently appeal to the people of the country not to venture out of their homes tomorrow as it will go a long way in checking the spread of the virus which is proving to be an unprecedented challenge to the governments and the people across the globe," Naidu added.

(PTI)