"COVID-19 Daily Cases Reach 90,000"…Worst Crisis Changes Indian Prime Minister's Birthday

Prime Minister Modi: "The Best Gift I Want Is for Everyone to Follow Social Distancing"
Indian Netizens: "Let's Designate the Prime Minister's Birthday as National Unemployment Day"
India Reports Over 90,000 New COVID-19 Cases Daily

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] In India, the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has exceeded 90,000 daily for consecutive days. As the economic hardship caused by COVID-19 worsens, voices have emerged suggesting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday be designated as the 'National Unemployment Day.'

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to the international statistics site Worldometer on the 18th, India recorded 96,793 new COVID-19 cases the previous day. Although this is less than the all-time high of 97,859 cases recorded on the 16th, the number of new cases remains in the high 90,000s daily.

Moreover, that day was also Prime Minister Modi's 70th birthday. Despite the uncontrollable spread of COVID-19, Indian political circles, including the President, ministers, and governors of various regions, consecutively sent congratulatory messages wishing Modi a "very happy birthday," to which Modi responded warmly.

However, through Twitter, Modi mentioned that the birthday gift he hoped for was "(citizens) maintaining 'social distancing,'" urging efforts to combat COVID-19. Nonetheless, Modi generally spent the day expressing gratitude for the birthday wishes.

On the other hand, there were different reactions on the internet. Voices calling to designate Modi's birthday as 'National Unemployment Day' erupted in various places. Tweets with the hashtag '#NationalUnemploymentDay' surpassed 2.75 million, showing a heated response.

These posts sarcastically criticized the worsening economic situation amid the COVID-19 response.

In India, due to the strong lockdown policies in the early stages of COVID-19, 19 million people lost their jobs within just two months. The Indian economy also saw its gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year decrease by 23.9% compared to the same period last year, marking the largest drop since records began in 1996. Modi had promptly issued lockdown orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, as the economic impact grew and more Indians faced livelihood crises, lockdown measures had to be eased. Subsequently, COVID-19 cases in India showed a steep upward trend.

India lifted the lockdown measures that caused extreme unemployment, but concerns about the economic situation remain significant. India is currently the country with the highest increase in COVID-19 cases on a national scale and is expected to soon surpass the United States to become the country with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide.