At the first meeting on Wednesday after the prime minister announced a 21 day lockdown, the union cabinet showed the way with all senior ministers keeping a safe distance from each other to reiterate the PM’s call for “social distancing”
PM Modi chaired the meeting where he was flanked by ministers who all kept a safe distance from each other as well as him. In the foreground in what appeared to be the last row of the meeting held at the prime minister official Race Course Road residence sat a few bureaucrats with heavy files beside them.
In his address to the nation on Tuesday night, the prime minister emphasized on social distancing as a way of keeping coronavirus in check. At least a distance of one metre must be maintained to ensure safety from the infection. “Experts are saying that social distancing is the only way to deal with the coronavirus crisis across the globe. There is no other way to deal with coronavirus and we need to save ourselves. And we have to break the cycle of its infection,” the Prime Minister said yesterday.
He said social distancing was not just for people who are affected. “Some people are under the impression that social distancing is only for COVID-19 patients — it is for every member of the family and even the prime minister. And the wrong impressions and thoughts can bring a lot of trouble to their families, friends and even the entire country,” he said.