Turn off lights on Sunday at 9 pm, light candles, PM Modi tells nation in video message

New Delhi, Apr 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday thanked the people for putting in so much effort to make this lockdown successful and urged people to turn off the lights on April 5 at 9 pm, and share nine minutes of their time by turning off the lights for 9 minutes.

Addressing the people, PM Modi said, "Many countries are following the lockdown. Many nations are also clapping for the health workers. This is a lockdown and we are all at home. But we are not alone. The entire nation is together."

The Prime Minister further went on to say that when the nation is fighting such a big battle, it is necessary that we are together and remain strong.

On Thursday, PM Modi held a meeting with chief ministers on the Covid-19 outbreak via video-conferencing.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the number of Covid-19 cases climbed to 2,069 in the country, while the death toll rose to 53.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had addressed the nation twice -- on March 19 and March 24.

On March 19, the Prime Minister had called for resolve and restraint to fight coronavirus. He had also announced a 'janta curfew' on March 22, a Sunday.

On March 24, he had announced the 21-day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the deadly virus.

The novel coronavirus has infected over a million people worldwide and led to more than 53,000 deaths.