Demands for second lockdown growing
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a strict nationwide lockdown, despite the economic pain it will exact, as a startling surge in coronavirus cases that has pummelled the country’s health system shows no signs of abating.
Many medical experts, opposition leaders and even Supreme Court judges are calling for national restrictions, arguing that a patchwork of state rules is insufficient to quell the rise in infections.
The situation is so dramatic that among those calling for a strict lockdown are merchants who know their businesses will be affected. ‘‘Only if our health is good will we be able to earn,’’ said Aruna Ramjee, a florist in the southern city of Bengaluru.
Infections have swelled in India since February in a disastrous turn blamed on more contagious variants as well as government decisions to allow massive crowds to gather for religious festivals and political rallies.
The country has had more than 21.4 million Covid-19 infections and over 234,000 deaths. Experts say even those dramatic tolls are undercounts.
Over the past month, nearly a dozen of India’s 28 federal states have announced some restrictions, but they fall short of a nationwide lockdown imposed last year that experts credited with helping to contain the virus for a time.
Those measures, which lasted two months, included stay-athome orders, a ban on international and domestic flights, and a suspension of passenger service on the nation’s extensive rail system. The government provided free wheat, rice and lentils to the poorest for nearly a year, and also small cash payments, while Modi also promised an economic relief package.
But the lockdown, imposed with only four hours’ notice, also stranded tens of millions of migrant workers who were left jobless and fled to their home villages, with many dying along the way.
Modi has so far left the responsibility for fighting the current surge to poorly equipped state governments, and has faced accusations of doing too little.
Three Supreme Court justices this week called on the government to impose a lockdown in the ‘‘interest of public welfare’’. Dr Randeep Guleria, a government health expert, said a total lockdown was needed. Rahul Gandhi, an opposition Congress party leader, in a letter to Modi yesterday, also demanded a total lockdown and government support to feed the poor, warning that ‘‘the human cost will result in many more tragic consequences for our people’’.