India is locking down large swaths of the country until at least the end of the month, as it seeks to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus following a surge in cases over the last two days. The curbs will prohibit all but essential services from operating and will take effect from Monday morning. All inter-city and long distance trains – which normally carry 23m people per day – have also been suspended, as have the local trains in Mumbai and Kolkata. The Delhi Metro and other public transportation networks are also being halted.
The restrictions and closures – which will vary slightly from state to state but affect most major cities – were announced on Sunday evening, as the number of cases in India surged to over 350, with 7 deaths. India was already in a de facto shutdown on Sunday, as the country of 1.37bn people observed a voluntary one-day “people’s curfew” at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who appealed for them to stay home for “just one day” on Sunday.
Many had speculated that the one-day curfew – which Mr Modi announced on Thursday – was intended to prepare people psychologically for longer, stricter measures, which will be now be actively enforced by law enforcement agencies. “India is moving much more rapidly than it was before,” said global health researcher Anant Bhan, speaking from Gurgaon. “We will have to see if this makes a major impact.”
Mr Bhan said the next week was critical for India to assess the severity of the crisis by ramping up testing and readying hospitals for a surge in patients. “There is a possibility of a sudden flood in cases,” he said. “As it is, India is stretched to capacity and existing ventilators are occupied.”