COVID-19: Millions locked down in India amid pandemic fears

Authorities in India have placed at least 75 districts across the country under stringent lockdown after cases of Coronavirus were detected from those areas, as the world’s second-most populous nation stepped up measures to halt the spread of the pandemic.

“State governments will issue orders allowing only essential services to operate in about 75 districts with confirmed COVID-19 cases or casualties,” said a home ministry official in New Delhi on Sunday.

The raft of state shutdowns came during a 14-hour voluntary curfew that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said would test India’s ability to fight the pandemic.

“This is the start of a long fight,” Modi tweeted as the curfew came to an end, during which people came out onto their balconies and stood near open windows to clap, clang metal vessels and ring bells to cheer emergency workers battling the spread of the Coronavirus.

“The people of this country have announced it today that we can take on and defeat as big a challenge as possible if we decide.”

New Delhi’s borders sealed

Normally bustling streets in the capital New Delhi and financial hub of Mumbai were mostly deserted as many people stayed indoors.

A growing number of states and territories, including the capital New Delhi, banned all activity except for essential services.

New Delhi, with a population of almost 20 million, will seal its land borders from early Monday, and close shops and private sector offices until March 31.

“We have learnt this from the world that the less you venture outside, the less you come in contact with the world that much we can save ourselves,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

Other states imposed partial or full lockdowns, with many closing borders, restricting movement and halting most public transport. Some, like West Bengal with a population of more than 90 million, locked down major cities but not rural areas.

Indian Railways, which carries more than 25 million commuters a day, cancelled all passenger train services until March 31.

Incoming international flights were already barred for a week, while schools, entertainment facilities and monuments such as the iconic Taj Mahal have been closed.

India has registered 417 cases of Coronavirus, with seven deaths, according to the latest numbers reported by media.