New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced complete lockdown of the entire country, as part of government’s stringent efforts to tackle coronavirus disease Covid-19.

“Today, I am going to announce a very important measure in our fight against Covid-19. The entire country will be under lockdown from today. The complete lockdown will come into effect from midnight tonight,” PM Modi said in his address to the nation.

This lockdown will be in place for 21 days and more stringent than Janta Curfew, he added.

The Prime Minister described the situation in different countries due to the pandemic that has infected more than 3.5 lakh people and killed over 16,000.

“This virus has been spreading very fast across the world. It spreads like wildfire. Looking at the experience of these countries, and what the experts say, the only successful way to tackle the spread of the virus is social distancing,” said the Prime Minister.

Some people believe that social distancing is only for those who are infected with the disease. It’s not true, and this thought will be detrimental for you, for me and for everyone. Social distancing is for everyone, even for the Prime Minister,” said PM Modi

This was the second time in a week when PM Modi addressed the country on the fast-spreading disease.

In a television address last Thursday, PM Modi had highlighted the threat posed by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, and appealed to people to practise social distancing and work from home.

He had also asked Indians to observe ‘Janta Curfew’, a self-imposed restraint measure to keep themselves and others in the society safe.

The Janta Curfew was in place for 14 hours on Sunday – from 7 am to 9 pm. And, as advised by the Prime Minister, people stayed off the roads and public places during this period.

PM Modi had also apprised the nation of an emergency task force to mitigate the economic challenges stemming from the crisis.

The lockdown will remain in force till April 14.