The world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown has been extended, leaving more than a billion people in India on the edge of survival amid fears of mass starvation, Gospel for Asia reported this week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the strict nationwide lockdown until May 3, essentially placing India’s 1.3 billion people — one out of every six people in the world — under stay-at-home orders. The latest order means the entire nation faces a six-week shutdown in total.
In a televised address to the nation, Modi said the next few days would be decisive, as India braces itself for a spike in COVID-19 cases. So far, the nation has officially reported nearly 13,000 confirmed cases and more than 400 deaths, but numbers could be much higher and the country is now entering a critical phase.
“Gospel for Asia World staff are actively praying for the honorable prime minister and his commendable efforts to protect the Indian people from this virus,” said, Dr. K.P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia founder. “Millions of furloughed day laborers and agricultural workers — the backbone of the workforce — face the grim threat of starvation. These nations are in the hands of God right now. There is a real danger that millions could starve to death.”
Many organizations such as Gospel for Asia World are working with grassroots networks, including churches, to help stop rumors and misinformation from spreading and to combat stigma.
“As followers of Christ, we need not be afraid because we have a living hope,” Yohannan said. “In times of crisis, it is the body of Christ, the holy church, that rises to the challenge for the sake of others because of the love of Christ.”
Starvation around the world is not new but rarely have so many people been subject to it from a crisis. The pandemic is causing countries to India its food supply chains.
More information is available at www.gfa.org.
– Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice
