India extends virus lockdown
Nation sees record jump in cases, possesses Asia’s top total
NEW DELHI — India on Sunday extended its nearly 2-month-old lockdown by two weeks after reporting nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases but said restrictions could be eased in low-risk areas to boost economic activity.
After surpassing China on Saturday, India now has the most confirmed virus cases in Asia, with nearly 91,000.
New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and some other key regions are still battling to control the rising curve of coronavirus infections. But the Home Ministry said low-risk areas will be allowed to restore economic activity.
All domestic and international passenger flights will remain prohibited. Metro services, schools, colleges, hotels and restaurants will also remain shuttered nationwide, the Home Ministry said.
The Health Ministry on Sunday reported a record jump of nearly 5,000 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the number of confirmed cases in India to 90,927, including 2,872 deaths.
India had fewer than 500 confirmed cases and nine deaths when the lockdown was first imposed on March 25.
On May 4, the government announced an easing of restrictions, allowing the reopening of neighborhood shops nationwide, and the resumption of manufacturing and farming in rural areas. It also resumed running a limited number of trains, mainly to carry stranded migrant workers.
In other developments in the Asia-pacific region:
China reported five new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, as the commercial hub of Shanghai announced the restart of some classes and airlines revive domestic flights. Of the new cases, two were imported and three came from the northeastern province of Jilin, which has seen a small spike in infections of unknown origin. In Shanghai, students retain the option of continuing to take classes online rather than facing virus testing and social distancing measures at schools. As in Beijing and other cities, Shanghai has already restarted classes for middle and high school students preparing for exams. Meanwhile, the number of domestic flights in China has returned to 60 percent of pre-outbreak levels.
South Korea reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus, raising hopes that a new outbreak linked to nightclubs in Seoul might be ending. The additional figures bring the national tally to 11,050 cases, including 262 deaths. After weeks of slowdown, South Korea’s daily jump marked an average of about 30 cases for several days, mostly associated with nightclubs in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district. The daily increase dropped to 19 on Saturday.