This archive report was first published on 19 June 2020.
On June 18, 2020, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on his nation to turn to yoga as a way to build a protective shield of immunity against the coronavirus.
Modi, a keen yoga practitioner, made the appeal in a YouTube message ahead of World Yoga Day on June 21, 2020.
“We all know that until now nowhere in the world have they been able to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 or coronavirus,” Modi said in the video. “Which is why right now, only a strong immunity can act as a protective shield or a bodyguard for us and our family members… yoga is our trusted friend in building this protective shield (of immunity).”
Modi, a teetotal vegetarian, has long promoted the benefits of yoga and has set up a ministry to promote yoga, Ayurveda and other traditional Indian treatments since he came to power in 2014.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion people, is the fourth worst-hit country in the world with more than 380,000 virus infections, official figures show.
