Coronavirus Updates: Most Of India Under Lockdown As Covid-19 Cases Climb To 471

Much of India remains huddled in lockdown and airlines prepare to stop passenger operations in desperate measures to curtail movement of people and curb further spread of the highly infectious Covid-19.

India, which has 471 confirmed cases now, has seen its infections more than double in the past four days. Just on March 19, it had reported 169 cases. The country has also seen nine deaths--the most recent one in Himachal Pradesh.

As the infections kept the upward trajectory, state governments decided to take extraordinary measures and extend restrictions.

Thirty out of the 36 states and union territories in India have imposed a complete lockdown. Only Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha are the ones that have announced partial lockdown of some areas. Lakshwadeep has only announced restrictions on some activities. Sikkim and Mizoram have not issued any order yet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced as he noted that many people are not taking the measure seriously. The central government has also said that there will be legal action against violators of the lockdown.

India has 471 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including nine deaths. According to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 20,707 samples from 19,817 individuals have been tested for SARS-CoV2.

Track latest news updates on how the coronavirus situation is evolving in India here:

Thirty states and union territories in India have announced a complete lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Only Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha do not have a complete lockdown but instead have closed certain areas. Lakshwadeep has closed certain activities. Sikkim and Mizoram have not made any announcements yet.

Three more private labs have been given the nod to conduct testing for Covid-19, taking the total number to 16.

Here is the full list:

No domestic commercial passenger flight will be allowed to operate in the country from Tuesday midnight till April 1 to restrict travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement today.

India has already banned international flights for a week from Sunday.

“The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease with effect from the midnight that is 23.59 hours IST (Indian Standard Time) on March 24, 2020,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destinations before 23.59 hours on March 24, 2020.”

The restrictions will not apply to cargo flights but will be applicable to private jets.

The order will remain in effect till midnight of March 31.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will facilitate home testing for Covid-19 in the city. The facility will begin in the next 48 hours.

According to BMC's press note, a helpline will be established where a doctor on call will record the travel and contact history, symptoms and co-morbid conditions of the caller. After that home collection of the sample will be facilitated. Accordingly, a private lab will be co-ordinated for the home testing of the citizen.

In its daily update, the BMC said that there are a total of 53 positive cases of Covid-19 in Mumbai. Thirty seven of these reside in the city.

Mumbai also recorded its third death of a Covid-19 patient today when a 68-year-old Philippines citizen who had tested positive but subsequently turned negative, died last night. He also had diabetes, asthma, and had also developed acute renal failure and respiratory disease. A committee is ascertaining if the death is attributable to Covid-19.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that a curfew is being imposed across the state to restrict movement and curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Inter-district borders are now being sealed, Thackeray said in an address to the state. He assured that the supply of essential items will remain open. "If we are unable to stop Covid-19 spread right now, will see events similar to those elsewhere in the world."

• Places of religious worship will be shut, with access to only those who work there.
• Medical training being given to Asha and Anganwadi workers and home guards.

The health minsitry has asked states to monitor the coronavirus outbreak round the clock and impose any restrictions needed to curb its spread.

Chief secretaries of the states have been advised that partial implementation of restrictive orders will defeat its purpose, said Luv Agarwal, joint secretary of the health ministry, in the daily press briefing. Thirty joint secretary officers have been sent to states to check their preparedness.

The health ministry has also requested states to ensure that essential services continue without delay.

The Indian Council of Medical Research also informed that 12 laboratory chains have been registered and have started work already. These labs have 15,000 collection centres across India. Besides, two testing kit manufacturers have recieved the necessary approval.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur today said the state will now be under complete lockdown until further orders.

Cab hailing giant Uber suspended its services in the national capital in view of the transport restrictions put in place for coronavirus. Also, all the inter city rides offered by Uber have stopped across cities, a company spokesperson said.

“Uber is complying with all Central and State Government directives related to its services for containing the spread of Coronavirus. We are communicating the status of specific cities with riders through our app,’’ they added.

Ola, on the other hand, is maintaining a bare minimal network to ensure transport for emergencies, a spokesperson said. “Ola will continue to encourage citizens to limit travel only for essential emergency needs as per the Government’s directive. We will enable a minimal network of vehicles to support essential services in cities, wherever applicable, as part of this national effort to reduce the contagion of COVID-19.”

Community spread phase, or the third phase of coronavirus spread in a country, is that phase when authorities are unable to trace the origin of a patient’s infection.

Source: ANI

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stood at 415 as of 10 a.m. according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. This includes seven people who succumbed to the virus.

A total of 18,383 samples from 17,493 individuals have been collected and tested for SARS-CoV2, the statement said.

The government of India has directed state governments to impose strict lockdowns across the country, in a bid to curtail the further spread of coronavirus. States have also been directed to take legal action against violators.

This was the direction statement released by the Press Information Bureau today.

The total number of Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra rose to 89 with 15 more coronavirus positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, officials said on Monday.

Of the new cases, 14 are in Mumbai and one in Pune, they said.

Covid-19 has so far claimed two lives in Maharashtra.

Source: PTI

Preventive measures against the virus have been stepped up.

• Indian Railways has suspended all passenger train services till March 31.
• The central government has locked down the 75 districts where coronavirus cases and deaths have been reported.
• Maharashtra imposed Section 144 across all urban areas of the state, besides partial shutdown in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
• Delhi, which had already curbed all non-essential services in the state, announced that the Delhi Metro will be shut till March 31.
• Fifteen districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Varanasi and Kanpur, will be under lockdown till March 25 in the first phase.
• Kolkata and several areas across West Bengal will be put under lockdown from Monday 5 p.m. till March 27.
• Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Odisha, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Rajasthan have announced shutdowns as well, barring essential services.

Also Read: India Issues Guidelines For Private Testing Of Covid-19