New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted people to shun complacency on the assumption that the COVID-19 pandemic will not affect them as it has so far not spread to areas they work or live in, saying "we have to continue being careful and taking the right precautions".
Addressing his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' programme, he also said that India's fight against the novel coronavirus has become people-driven wherein every citizen is playing his or her part.
Be it businesses, offices, education institutes or medical sector, everyone is adapting to changes in the post-coronavirus world, he said.
India's decision to supply medicines to countries which needed them amid the COVID-19 pandemic was guided by its ethos, he said, adding that he feels very proud when world leaders thank India and its people for the assistance.
In his over 30-minute-long address, Modi hailed the contribution of state governments in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, saying they have played a very active role.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 824 and the number of cases climbed to 26,496 in India on Sunday, according to the Union health ministry.
Modi had announced a 21-day lockdown on March 24. On April 14, he extended the nationwide restrictions for another 19 days till May 3 in the backdrop of growing COVID-19 cases.
