PM Modi said the country has thanked each person who has taken part in the coronavirus fight.
Answering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to show gratitude to health workers who are at the forefront of the coronavirus fight, people across the country came out clapping and beating utensils today.
People, locked in their homes for days because of the shutdown over the virus which has killed seven in the country, appeared in their balconies and porches minutes before 5 pm on Sunday, and tried to boost the morale of health personnel by drumming utensils and gongs. Clanging sounds rang in the air for minutes in several parts of the country.
Several people sang bhajans (religious songs) and shouted patriotic slogans to boost the morale of health workers.
Politicians, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Telangana CM Jagan Mohan Reddy and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, also took part in the activity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi later thanked the people of the country.
"This (referring to the clapping and noise) is the sound of thanks and also the start of victory in a long battle against coronavirus. Let us carry this determination and settle down for a long fight," the Prime Minister tweeted.
"The country has thanked each person who has taken part in the fight against the novel coronavirus," he added.
The Prime Minister, in a televised address to the nation on Thursday, had called on people to boost the morale of doctors, nurses and emergency workers by appearing on their balconies and porches at 5 pm and make as much noise as they could for five minutes.
Several Bollywood personalities also took part in the exercise.
The country is set to grind to a halt shortly as railway, metro and interstate bus services will be stopped to break the march of coronavirus, which infected close to 350 people.
The railways, which had cancelled more than 1000 trains, said it will shut passenger train services till March 31. Interstate buses and metro services would follow the same schedule. Several states, including Punjab and Rajasthan, have announced a complete lockdown that involves shutting down public transport, malls and shops.
Only essential services will operate in 75 districts which saw confirmed cases of COVID-19, the government has said.