Moneycontrol PRO
HomeNewsIndiaPM Narendra Modi to address nation, ‘share a message’ with citizens at 6 pm

PM Narendra Modi to address nation, ‘share a message’ with citizens at 6 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be sharing a message with citizens at 6 pm on October 20.

October 20, 2020 / 15:52 IST
LIVE Updates | File image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 6.00 pm on October 20. “Will be sharing a message with my fellow citizens at 6 PM this evening,” PM Modi said in a bilingual tweet.

It is unclear as to what the address will be about. This comes on a day India reported around 46,700 new COVID-19 cases – the lowest single-day rise in nearly three months.

India has reported nearly 76 lakh COVID-19 cases, including 1.15 lakh deaths. But more than 67 lakh patients have recovered so far. At its peak in September, India was recording over 90,000 new cases on a daily basis. The highest such single-day rise was of around 97,800 cases (also the highest ever reported anywhere in the world). About 26.2 lakh cases were reported in September alone. But new infections in the country have fallen significantly and consistently since the end of September.

However, experts have warned that not following COVID-related safety measures during the upcoming festive season could lead to a massive surge in novel coronavirus infections.

The announcement about the address was made on the prime minister’s personal Twitter handle, not that of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO handle, however, did 'retweet' the original post.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

Since March, PM Modi has made six such addresses to the nation in which he spoke about various measures being taken to curb the virus' spread and also announced economic and welfare packages.

In his last such address on June 30, PM Modi had announced extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for another five months.

Click here for Moneycontrol’s full coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic

Moneycontrol News
first published: Oct 20, 2020 01:08 pm

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

  • On Saturdays

    Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

  • Daily-Weekdays

    Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347