Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 31 : Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that lockdown of over eight weeks has trained us for the “new norms” in lifestyle.
Speaking to media on the conclusion of Lockdown 4.0 here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said,while the life has to move on and the show must go on, lockdown has inculcated in us the essential practices of hygiene, healthy maintenance of physical distance and discipline in day to day. It has revived the traditional practices of handwash and greeting with folded hands which are going to be part of the “new norm” social culture, he said.
In a country as heterogeneous and as populous as India, if we are able to avoid overcrowding to the maximum extent possible, this itself, will be one of the most rewarding “new norms” in the post-COVID era, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the lockdown period also taught us how to keep functioning and performing our professional work in spite of constraints of not attending the office. It is amazing, he said, that in many a case, the work output was higher while working from home, which will possibly mark a new opening in professional life in the times to come.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced lockdown at a time when many of the European countries had refused to do so, many a question were raised, but today looking back retrospectively, it is being acknowledged by all that a country of 130 crore population has been saved of a huge catastrophe because of this decision. He said, the preemptive measures by Prime Minister Modi are being lauded across the world and have reiterated him as a world leader of vision.
Notwithstanding the misgivings in certain quarters, Dr Jitendra Singh said, statistical figures bear out that over the last 10 weeks our performance in the fight against Corona has not only been effective but has also improved for the better. Our recovery rate, he said, has over the last few weeks improved to more than 47% and mortality rate has remained limited to around 0.2 per lakh and our doubling time has also improved.
Even though the government will make certain relaxations in the days to come, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the observance of practices learnt during the lockdown period will have to be carried out for a long time to come.
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