Coronavirus in India: The entire country came together on March 22 intensifying the battle against coronavirus which has now reached stage three. In order to take measures, the centre and state government have now decided to shut down 75 districts across the country with confirmed cases across 22 states quoted by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The joint secretary of the health and family welfare department revealed in a media briefing that this official lockdown is the logical and natural extension of Janata curfew. Further, the Delhi Police has also announced Section 144 under the Criminal Procedure Code which will be seen as a preventive limited measure.
Amongst the lockdown instructions, the state government will only allow essential services like grocery items, telecom services, food home delivery, e-commerce, hospitals-pharmacies, Banks-ATMs etc in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab and many more.
Essential services are clearly defined and include ration, groceries, milk, medical services, transport of essential needs among others: Lav Agarwal, JS, @MoHFW_INDIA #Covid_19india #coronaupdatesindia pic.twitter.com/D1uybDEiGo
— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 22, 2020
Order under section 144 CrPC#CoronaVirusUpdate pic.twitter.com/b53SCoqQZf
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) March 22, 2020
Strengthening precautions against COVID-19
Indian Railways has decided that no passenger train will run up to 31st March.
#NoRailTravel pic.twitter.com/jIot630G7c
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 22, 2020
Andhra Pradesh: Vizag, Prakasam and Vijaywada
Chandigarh: Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh: Raipur
Delhi: West Delhi, South Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, East Delhi, Central Delhi and North Delhi
Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhinagar and Kutchh
Haryana: Gurugram, Faridabad, Rajkot, Panchkula, Panipat
Himachal Pradesh: Kangra
Jammu & Pradesh: Jammu and Srinagar
Karnataka: Kalaburgi, Chikkaballapura, Mysore, Kodagu and Bangalore
Kerala: Thrissur, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kasargod, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Mallapuram Idukki, Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Idukki
Ladakh: Kargil and Leh
Madhya Pradesh: Jabalpur
Maharashtra: Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Mumbai Sub-Urb, Yavatmal, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune
Odisha: Khurda
Puducherry: Mahe
Punjab: SBS Nagar, Hoshiarpur, SAS Nagar
Tamil Nadu: Kanchipurum, Chennai, Erode
Rajasthan: Jaipur, Bilwara, Jhunjhunu, Sikar
Telangana: Sanga Reddy, Bhadradri Kothagudam, Medchai, Ranga reddy and Hyderabad
Uttar Pradesh: Lucknow, Agra, GB Nagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ghaziabad, Varanasi
Uttarakhand: Dehradun
West Bengal: North 24 Parganas and Kolkata
Also Read: Coronavirus: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announces lockdown in capital till March 31
The officials have also revealed that all these steps taken by the government are for the betterment of the nation and are essential to break the chain of transmission.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal quoted in the press conference that this lockdown is necessary to control the spread of Coronavirus. During the lockdown, which will start from 6 AM on March 23 and will end on March 31, the Delhi borders will remain sealed but the essential services will be carried out without difficulties.
Talking about the number of cases, a total of 415 positive cases have been reported as per the Indian Council of Medical Research. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health figures stated 349 positive cases, 7 deaths and 24 cured on Sunday.
Total number of positive Coronavirus cases in the country is 415: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) pic.twitter.com/xksiw6dkAR
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2020
Further, amidst the lockdown, cab operators like Uber have suspended their services in the city to reduce the contagion of Covid-19.
Delhi: Amid the lockdown announced by the Delhi government, cab operator Uber temporarily suspends all ride services in the city. pic.twitter.com/w6UD9RRw8s
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2020
Not just this, Narendra Modi has also urged people to follow the guidelines given by the government about the lockdown in his latest tweet.
लॉकडाउन को अभी भी कई लोग गंभीरता से नहीं ले रहे हैं। कृपया करके अपने आप को बचाएं, अपने परिवार को बचाएं, निर्देशों का गंभीरता से पालन करें। राज्य सरकारों से मेरा अनुरोध है कि वो नियमों और कानूनों का पालन करवाएं।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2020