CORONAVIRUS | India launched a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic in the country, where 315 people have so far been found to have contracted the disease.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation last week urged citizens to stay indoors from 7am to 9pm local time - a move that he said would be a crucial test for a country to assess its abilities to fight the pandemic.

"Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against the Covid-19 menace," Modi tweeted minutes before the curfew commenced. 

"The steps we take now will help in the times to come,' he said in the tweet.

- Reuters