Some states opt for hard lockdown as cases spike
NEWDELHI: At a time when most of India is in an “Unlock” phase, some states have selectively opted for a hard lockdown, confining residents indoors, shutting officesandcommercialestablishments and taking transport off the streets, to stanch the rising number of Covid-19 cases since restrictions began to be eased on June 1.
The number of coronavirus disease cases in the country has almost quadrupled to 700,000 from 190,000 since the Unlock guidelines were enforced. Lockdowns were to continue in containment zones and hotspots until July 31, the Union home ministry said, allowing states to identify and demarcate such zones and impose fines on violators.
Almost all activities except the opening of educational institutions, cinema halls and metro train services, have been allowed in the Unlock phase. On Monday, Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, went into what the state government said was a triple lockdown with almost all offices, shops and public transport closed. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan worked from his residence, Cliff House. And, at the state secretariat, only the offices of chief secretary, home and revenue secretaries were functional.
“The situation is grim,” said Kerala tourism Minister Kadakkampally Surendran, adding that stringent restrictions will continue even after the week-long triple lockdown that was announced on Sunday ends.
In the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation limits, 100 wards are fully closed and only essential services like banks, automated teller machines, pharmacies, hospitals, the media, milk booths, petrol pumps and gas agencies were functioning with minimal staff. Thiruvananthapuram deputy commissioner of police Divya Gopinath said cases would be registered and vehicles seized if people come out of their homes unnecessarily and violators of the restrictions would have to undergo institutional quarantine.
In Assam, the state government is set to extend the lockdown in the state capital of Guwahati, and the rest of Kamrup Metro district, as the number of Covid cases continue to rise. On Sunday, 777 new Covid-19 cases were reported, the single biggest spike in a day in the Kamrup Metro district, taking the district’s tally for 10 days (between June 24 and July 4) to 2,741 cases, nearly one-fourth the total 11,001 cases in the state.
“We have to extend the lockdown in the district for another week as cases continue to rise,” health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. On June 28, the Assam government had imposed a 14-day hard lockdown in Kamrup Metro district, allowing only pharmacies to operate.
States such as Odisha, Tripura and Karnataka have announced weekend curfews or hard lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, saw its first weekend curfew on June 5, which would continue till August 2, chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced on Sunday, while ruling out a complete lockdown in the state.
The weekend curfew in Odisha, which started on June 1, has been extended to 18 districts from an earlier 11 for the entire month of July as the number of Covid-19 cases in the state touched 10,000 on Monday.
Tripura’s capital city of Agartala has been under a weekend curfew since July 5. In an order, the state government has imposed 24-hour lockdown, which it says would continue on all Sundays in July.
Manipur has also imposed a lockdown in Jiribam district, 220 km west of Imphal, till July 15 after 28 police personnel posted at a border check-post with Assam tested positive. Manipur chief secretary Dr J Suresh Babu said only essential services will be allowed.