Features
Covid-19 second wave lockdown in 22 of 28 States and four of eight UTs in India
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
(Our Special Correspondent)
NEW DELHI, May 9:
The ongoing lockdown in Delhi has been extended for another week, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday. It will be harsher this time around and the Delhi Metro will not operate for at least a week, he said.
“I have spoken to traders, women, youth and many others over the past few days. Everyone believes that while cases have come down, they are not at the level where the lockdown can be lifted. Otherwise, what we have gained will be lost. So, the lockdown is being extended for another week, Kejriwal said.
The Union Territory (UT) of Delhi first announced a week-long lockdown this year on April 19. It has been extended every Sunday since, as cases and positivity rate refused to dip. Essential services will be available during the lockdown, and those with medical emergencies will not be stopped.
There is no nationwide lockdown in place. But, with Covid-19 cases on a steady rise across the country, 22 of the 28 States and four of the eight UTs have imposed complete lockdowns to reduce the spread of the coronavirus virus amid a deadly second wave.
Even the states that have not opted for state-wide lockdowns have induced lockdown-like strict curbs on the movement of people. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and West Bengal are such states as they have strict Covid-19 curbs in place with additional measures like a weekend lockdown and night curfews in some of them.
India continues to reel under an unrelenting Covid wave, with 4,172 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, the highest since the pandemic began in the country. The country’s total infections are now at over 21.8 million.
The states and UTs that have imposed a lockdown or Covid-related restrictions are as follows:
Tamil Nadu:
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday imposed a complete state-wide lockdown from May 10 to May 24 amid an unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases. This comes a day after the state recorded its highest single day spike of over 26,000 new cases on Friday.
Chief Minister MK Stalin said the lockdown is being enforced due to “unavoidable reasons.” The decision was taken, based on inputs received at a review meeting he had with district collectors on Friday, besides consultations with medical experts.
Karnataka:
To break the chain of Covid transmission in the state, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday announced a full lockdown in the state from May 10 to May 24.
“There will be no movement of people allowed in this period. There will be a window of four hours between 6 am and 10 am for people to buy essential items. There will be no industrial activity but in-situ construction is allowed,” he said. The state has been recording over 45,000 daily cases in the last week.
Kerala:
A day after Kerala reported a record 41,953 infections, the state government on Thursday announced a full lockdown in the state from May 8 to 16. The state’s earlier restrictions — preventing unnecessary travel and reducing attendance in offices– had failed to reduce its caseload. Kerala’s active cases with over 3,75,000 are the third highest in the country.
Rajasthan:
The state government announced a strict lockdown between May 10 and 24. It reported 18,231 new Covid-19 cases and 164 fatalities on Friday, pushing the state’s infection tally to 7,20,799 and the death toll to 5,346.
Bihar:
The government on May 4 imposed a state-wide lockdown till May 15 in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases. The announcement, by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, came within hours of the Patna High Court ordering the government to declare a lockdown, warning that otherwise the court may step in.
Bihar reported over 3,000 new deaths and over 13,000 new cases in the last 24 hours. The continuous rise in cases has also caused the recovery rate to plummet from over 98 per cent to just 79.16 per cent.
Delhi (Union Territory):
The national capital has been under lockdown since April 19 and it will continue till May 17.
Maharashtra:
The state had imposed lockdown-like curbs on April 5 coupled with prohibitory orders and restrictions on the movement of people. The curbs have been extended till May 15. After reporting a massive uptick in new cases at the beginning of Covid’s second wave, the state has now been reporting a decline with new cases further dropping by over 8,000 on Friday. The total cases stand at over 4,996,000 with over 74,000 fatalities.
Punjab:
The state has imposed extensive Covid-19 curbs, in addition to measures like a weekend lockdown and a night curfew which will be in force till May 15. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ruled out a complete lockdown. The restrictions currently in place are more stringent than lockdown conditions in many other states.
Uttar Pradesh:
The UP government on Wednesday extended Covid-19 restrictions across the state till 7 am on May 10. This comes weeks after it obtained from the Supreme Court a stay on an Allahabad High Court order to impose a weeklong lockdown in five districts.
Madhya Pradesh:
Extending the Covid-19 curfew in the state until May 15, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday called upon the people to follow the public curfew and break the spread of the virus. He also announced free treatment for the poor and the needy for Covid-19 through the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Haryana:
The state is under a seven-day long lockdown from May 3. The lockdown will remain in force in the state till 5 am on May 10. Earlier, a weekend curfew was enforced in nine districts.
Odisha:
Amid rising cases, a 14-day lockdown has been imposed in the entire state from May 5 till May 19.
Jharkhand:
Jharkhand is under Covid-19 lockdown-like restrictions from April 22 till May 6.
Chhattisgarh:
Chhattisgarh has allowed district collectors to extend lockdown, which was to end on May 5, till May 15.
Gujarat:
In the absence of a state-wide lockdown, Gujarat has imposed a night curfew in 29 cities, besides other restrictions on movement and gathering at public places.
Goa (UT)
: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday announced that there will be state-level curfew from May 9 to May 23. The announcement comes on the day the number of active Covid-19 cases in the state exceeded 30,000 for the first time and recorded 4195 new cases, its highest single day increase in active Covid-19 positive cases.
Telangana:
Telangana has imposed a night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am on May 1, later extended till 5 am on May 15. The state reported 5,559 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 4,87,000, while the toll stood at 2,666 with 41 more casualties.
Andhra Pradesh:
The state announced a partial curfew from 12 noon to 6 am from May 6 for two weeks. The state had earlier imposed a night curfew. The government on Friday also curtailed working hours with all employees working in the government department will now work from 8 am to 11.30 am as the curfew begins at noon. The curfew will be in force till at least May 18 as per the government’s preliminary order. The state’s cumulative coronavirus tally shot up to over 12,45,000 as 17,188 fresh cases were added in the 24 hours.
West Bengal:
The West Bengal government on April 30 imposed extensive curbs, including ban on all kinds of gatherings. All shopping malls, beauty parlours, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools to close until further notice. Markets will remain open from 7 am to 10 am and 3 pm to 5 pm. The state recorded its highest single-day spike of 19,216 covid-19 cases on Friday along with fatalities breaching the 12,000-mark.
Assam:
Assam advanced its night curfew to 6 pm from the current 8 pm with restrictions imposed on the movement of people at public places from May 5. The state also imposed a night curfew from April 27 till May 7. The restrictions would be in place from 8 pm to 5 am.
Puducherry (UT):
Puducherry has extended lockdown till May 10.
Nagaland:
Nagaland has imposed partial lockdown with stricter coronavirus restrictions from April 30 to May 14.
Mizoram:
Mizoram is under an eight-day lockdown in Aizawl and other district headquarters towns from May 3.
Jammu and Kashmir (UT):
The administration has extended the lockdown in four districts of Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam and Jammu districts till May 6. Night curfew will continue in all municipal/urban local body limits of all 20 districts.
Uttarakhand:
State has reimposed several restrictions and night curfew.
Himachal Pradesh:
Night curfew in four districts out of 12 and weekend shutdown.