Lockdown kicks in with scramble for essentials
20 states witness complete shut down while 6 have partial closedown
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Major part of India remained under lockdown on Monday as people stayed away from offices and public places and bare minimum vehicles were seen on roads. However, in cities, a huge crowd was reported in market places as people rushed to stock vegetables and ration in anticipation of a long haul. A total of 20 states saw complete shut down while six had partial closedown in view of novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Centre and states on Sunday had announced lockdown in about 80 districts where at least one confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba wrote a letter to State Chief Secretaries urging them to monitor the situation round the clock. Underlining the importance of social distancing, the health officials said that it is the best remedy to check the spike in cases and break the chain of transmission.
Several states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have started pasting posters outside the houses of people who have been instructed to be on home quarantine.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia said that so far airborne spread of Covid has not been reported in India.
“Based on the information received so far and on our experience with other coronaviruses, Covid-19 appears to spread mostly through respiratory droplets (for instance produced when a sick person coughs) and close contact. This is why WHO recommends maintaining hand and respiratory hygiene,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia said.
“The Chinese authorities reported that there could be a possibility of aerosol transmission in a relatively closed environment with prolonged exposure to high concentrations of aerosols, like in ICUs and CCUs in hospitals, but more investigations and analysis of epidemiological data is needed to understand this mode of transmission of the virus,” she added.
In an interaction with the editors of television channels, the Prime Minister said media should counter pessimism and panic through positive communication and asked channels to spread scientific reports, involve informed people in their discussions and counter the spread of misinformation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced as he noted that many people are not taking the measure seriously.
Meanwhile, government has said that it is working with various industry bodies and manufacturers to streamline supply chain, remove bottlenecks and maintain a steady supply of body coveralls, N-95 masks, and 2-ply/3-ply surgical masks required for healthcare professionals dealing COVID-19 cases. Government said that over the last 45 days, Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and Textiles are attempting to locate adequate number of sources who can produce and supply the requirement of body coveralls for the government.
So far, proto type garments of six Indian manufacturers have passed the prescribed tests conducted at South India Textiles research association at Coimbatore., and two more manufacturers are forthcoming as on date.
Bengaluru fears community spread
In the wake of rising
Covid-19 cases as well as suspects, Karnataka government has decided to lockout entire state till March 31.
Earlier, the state government had decided to impose prohibitory orders only in nine of the
30 districts where Covid19 positive cases were reported from.
However, the health task force has expressed apprehension that the virus had entered many more districts and in places like Bengaluru, it might have entered third stage - community spread.
At around 9.30 pm, Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa tweeted the government’s decision of shutting down entire state.
Toughening the measures to halt the spread of
Covid-19 outbreak, the Karnataka Government has also barred takeaways at restaurants and eateries but the food can be ordered only-through on-line platforms, besides closing down flyovers across the Bengaluru.