New Delhi: Two years ago, on this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the entire country for a ‘Janata curfew’ to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. It was an unprecedented shutdown which witnessed millions across the country staying indoors, and streets being deserted.
Modi had announced a 14-hour Janata (civil) curfew on March 22, 2020, which required people to stay indoors from 7 am till 9 pm, as part of the social distancing exercise to help stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
On that day, all markets and establishments except those dealing in essential goods and services were closed.
Before the commencement of the curfew, the Prime Minister had urged everyone to be a part of it. He had said that it would add tremendous strength to the fight against Covid-19. "Stay indoors and stay healthy," Modi had written on Twitter.
Roads were deserted in the national capital, and only a few private vehicles and buses were in operation.
Areas such as Esplanade and Dalhousie in Kolkata, which are usually bustling, wore a deserted look on the day of the Janata curfew, according to reports.
The usually bustling western and eastern express highways and other arterial roads of Mumbai wore an empty look on the day of the Janata curfew.
In Gujarat, streets were empty and shops and business establishments remained shut. On the day of the curfew, roads, railway stations and airports in Gujarat’s four major cities were deserted as well.
In Goa, bus services, commercial establishments, restaurants, markets and places of worship remained shut on the day of the curfew.
In most parts of Tamil Nadu, both state-run and private buses, autos and taxis did not operate.
Chief Ministers of different states and leaders of various parties had also urged the people of the country to follow the self-imposed curfew.
Modi had said that the Janata curfew will be a litmus test to show India's readiness to take on the coronavirus challenge.
India reported 1,581 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 2,741 people recovered from SARS-CoV-2 on Monday. With the addition of new infections, the country's active caseload now stands at 23,913.
The active cases stand at 0.06 per cent of the total number of infections recorded in the country. The recovery rate is currently at 98.74 per cent.
With the continuous decrease in cases, the daily positivity rate of the country has dipped to 0.28 per cent while the weekly positivity rate now stands at 0.39 per cent.
181.56 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive.