New Delhi, June 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his interaction to the nation while launching a government job scheme for Uttar Pradesh, said maintaining "do gaj doori" and using face masks is necessary till a vaccine is developed against COVID-19. Modi signalled that the guard cannot be laid down despite the re-opening of most sectors of economy.

"Till the time a vaccine is not developed for COVID-19, we all have to maintain 'Do gaj doori' and wear face masks," Modi said during launch of ‘Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan' through video conference.

The job scheme, which would be implemented in 31 districts of the state, is aimed at providing employment and creating self-employment opportunities for nearly 1.25 crore people, most migrant workers who have returned from their state where they were earlier employed.

Modi, while interacting with the beneficiaries of Yogi Adityanath government's job assistance measures, said it is necessary to resume work but the safety norms must be strictly adhered to. "At this time, we have only one medicine against this disease. The medicine is to maintain 'do gaj ji doori'," he said.

'Do gaj ki doori' refers to a distance of over 2 metres. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the chances of COVID-19 transmission gets subtracted if social distancing is practices and face masks are worn.

India, with a population of around 1.3 billion, has reported over 4.9 lakh cases of coronavirus so far. The country, despite being the fourth-worst affected in terms of caseload, has recorded a relatively lower death toll. The number of fatalities, as per the stats released on Friday, stood at 15,301.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2020 01:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).