KATHMANDU: The Government of India has announced a total lockdown to break the cycle of Coronavirus transmission, which is seeing a gradual rise in the country.

In an address to the nation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would go into a 21-day lockdown, which comes to effect from midnight on Tuesday.

"We are entering lockdown for 21 days to save India, all of its citizens. If we do not comply with the system in these 21 days, we will move 21 years backwards," Modi urged people to cooperate with the governor.

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In the address, PM Modi stressed that that the lockdown -- which the people must understand as a curfew -- was necessary for slowing down the spread of Coronavirus.

Emphasising on the gravity of the epidemic, the Indian Prime Minister said that physical distancing was the only way to control the virus from spreading.

The lockdown decree came in the wake of sharp spike in the number of cases in the country of 1.3 billion people.