India under lockdown for 21 days from midnight of 24 March, says PM Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised address today announced that the entire country will be under lockdown for the next 21 days starting midnight tonight.

PM Modi said: “There will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes.”

He also announced an emergency financial package of Rs150bn ($1.97bn) for healthcare.

So far, over 500 coronavirus cases and ten deaths have been reported in the country, according to the figures released by the Union Health Ministry.