To combat the coronavirus pandemic, a COVID-19 lockdown has been ordered by the Centre which will include provisions for violators to face legal action.
COVID-19 cases in India have touched 435 with its ninth confirmed fatality due to the virus. A fourteen-hour Janata curfew was observed over the weekend, with millions of Indians confining themselves to their homes at the encouragement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said it would “add tremendous strength to the fight against COVID-19 menace.” A COVID-19 lockdown has been ordered covering more than eighty cities and districts across the country according to Al Jazeera.
The COVID-19 lockdown will cover several major cities, including the national capital of Delhi; the Karnataka state capital of Bengaluru; the Maharashtra state capital Mumbai; the Telangana state capital Hyderabad; the Tamil Nadu state capital Chennai; and the West Bengal state capital Kolkata. COVID-19 cases in India are dispersed across multiple states and union territories, with Maharashtra reporting more cases than any other state with 89 confirmed at the time of writing.
Kerala has reported 67 cases, the second-highest behind Maharashtra. It is followed by Telangana, with 32; Delhi with thirty; Gujarat with 29; Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 28 apiece; Karnataka with 26; Haryana with 22; Punjab with 21; and Ladakh with thirteen.
Of the states and union territories whose confirmed COVID-19 cases number in the single digits, Tamil Nadu reports nine infections followed by Chandigarh and West Bengal with seven apiece; Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with six apiece; Jammu and Kashmir with four; Uttarakhand with three; and Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha with two apiece. In addition, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry have reported one case each.
Deaths in India number at nine, with Maharashtra reporting three and Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, and West Bengal with one apiece. 24 Indians have been recovered from COVID-19, leaving 411 active cases.
At the global level, confirmed COVID-19 cases number at 350,631 with fatalities numbering at 15,317 at the time of writing. 100,354 COVID-19 patients have recovered, leaving 234,975 active infections. Of the 234,960 active COVID-19 patients, 95 percent (223,732 patients) are in mild condition. Five percent of active COVID-19 patients, numbering at 11,243, are in serious or critical condition. Given the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, measures such as a COVID-19 lockdown have been declared in multiple states and territories.
