The Center responded in writing on Tuesday (September 15) to Congressional Leader Manish Tiwari’s question why Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed the national lockdown just four hours in advance.
The government said that this step was taken on the recommendation of experts since there was a danger of the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 due to the movement of people.
Congressional deputy Tiwari had asked: “What are the reasons why the blockade was imposed with only four hours notice on March 23? What was the rush why the blockade was imposed in such a short period in the country? Has the blockade been possible? stop COVID-19? “
Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai said in a written response on behalf of the government that after the coronavirus outbreak on January 7, the government had taken various measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including a ban on international flights, issuing a notice to the public, quarantine facilities, etc.
The government said that any mass movement of people would have spread the disease very quickly among people in all parts of the country. Therefore, on March 24, a nationwide lockdown was announced to prevent coronavirus in the country after taking into account the global experience.
Rai said in his written response that India successfully thwarted the aggressive spread of COVID-19 by imposing a nationwide blockade. He added that the shutdown helped the country develop the necessary additional health infrastructure.
There was a 22-fold increase in isolation beds and a 14-fold increase in ICU beds compared to their availability in March 2020. At the same time, the capacity of the laboratories also increased tenfold. Rai also said in his written response that the country would have registered 14-29 lakh more cases if the government had not imposed the shutdown.
.
