New Delhi, March 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8 PM on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. The Prime Minister took to micro-blogging  site Twitter to announce that he will talk to people of India on vital aspects relating to the menace of COVID-19. "वैश्विक महामारी कोरोना वायरस के बढ़ते प्रकोप के संबंध में कुछ महत्वपूर्ण बातें देशवासियों के साथ साझा करूंगा। आज, 24 मार्च रात 8 बजे देश को संबोधित करूंगा। Will address the nation at 8 PM today, 24th March 2020, on vital aspects relating to the menace of COVID-19", the Prime Minister tweeted.

This is the Prime Minister's second address to the nation since Thursday, when he called for a 'Janata Curfew' on Sunday from 7 am to 9 pm to fight the spread of coronavirus. On Thursday, the Prime Minister had addressed the nation at 8 pm and spoke about the pandemic diseases and the efforts to combat it. He thanked citizens who participated in the event to salute and show gratitude to people working at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 in the country.

In India, 446 people have been infected by COVID-19 as of March 24, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Monday. A total of 37 patients have been cured /discharged /migrated cases while the death toll due to coronavirus is 9 so far.  The worst-affected state by COVID-19 is  Maharashtra with 101 positive cases followed by Kerala with 98 cases.

Here's the tweet by PM Modi:

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in India, as many as 30 states and union territories have announced a complete lockdown in their entire territories covering as many as 548 districts. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday lauded India for its role in eliminating two silent killers' -- small pox and polio and urged to take aggressive action against the global pandemic coronavirus or COVID-19.

After a successful 'Janata Curfew' call, the Prime Minister had appealed to people of the nation to follow 'lockdown' instructions issued to contain the spread of COVID-19. He advised people not to leave homes unless it is very important. "Today's Janta Curfew may end at 9 p.m., but that doesn't mean we should start celebrating. Do not consider it a success. This is the beginning of a long fight. Today, the countrymen have told that we are capable, if we decide, we can beat the biggest challenge together", he had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2020 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).