Modi appeals to ensure coronavirus lockdown is enforced, rail stations deserted

New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced, as he noted many people are not taking the measure seriously.

“Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to ensure rules and laws are followed,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The federal government has asked states to strictly enforce lockdown and take legal action against violators, an official statement said on Monday.

The central and state governments on Sunday decided to completely lock down 80 districts across the country where coronavirus cases have been reported till March 31.

A total of 415 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India so far including 23 cured and 7 deaths, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry said on Monday. He said that a “complete lockdown has been announced in 19 states and union territories. Some parts of 6 states and union territories have been kept under lockdown”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said curfew will be imposed in the entire state from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus has reached a "turning point".

He said the next few days will be crucial and crowds will not be tolerated in public places, PTI reported.

He, however, assured that all essential services will remain open during the time of curfew.

"We will not tolerate crowd in public places at any cost. Except in case of an emergency, no one will be allowed to roam on streets. If these guidelines are violated, people will face legal action," Thackeray said.

Railway stations across the country wore a deserted look on Monday as the Indian Railways cancelled all passenger train operations till March 31 in view of coronavirus. To ensure essential supplies in various parts of the country, the movement of goods trains will continue. The Indian Railways on Sunday stated that the Zonal Railways have been advised to ensure strict adherence to the instructions.

Meanwhile, operations at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in Delhi, which handles all international flights, will remain suspended till March 29 as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

In Mumbai, the railway authorities have suspended local and outstation trains till March 31. The local trains are considered as the lifeline of Mumbai as over 80 lakh people travel in them everyday. The Central and the Western Railway operate over 3,000 services on suburban routes daily. “All the suburban services have been stopped from Sunday midnight till March 31,” a railway spokesperson said.

The Railway Board on Sunday afternoon decided to suspend suburban services along with all other passenger trains to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the city and other parts of the country.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced a “full curfew” in the state “with no relaxations” in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.

“After reviewing the situation with Chief Secretary & @DGPPunjabPolice, announced full curfew with no relaxations. DCs have been asked to issue orders accordingly. Any person required to be given relaxation will be so allowed specifically for given period & purpose,” he tweeted.

District Collectors and Sub Divisional Magistrates have been further asked to extend all help to those in need. “I have directed the provision of free food, shelter & medicines for those in need & 20 Cr has been sanctioned out of CM relief fund for same. Additionally, DCs & SDMs have been asked to extend all assistance to those in need,” the Singh added. A total of 21 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Punjab.

Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, has now become the most sought after medicine after reports emerged that it is proving effective in the fight against coronavirus. Reports said that chloroquine has disappeared from drug stores in Indore and some even claim that the drug is being supplied to the United States. As per the initial study, chloroquine treatment of COVID-19 patients had clinical and virologic benefit versus a comparison group. Chloroquine was added as a recommended antiviral for treatment of COVID-19, though clinical trials is still going on.

The Karnataka government on Monday barred non-essential services in nine districts with certain exceptions to ensure social distancing and isolation to contain the spread of coronavirus, IANS reported.

The restrictions will apply to revenue districts of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kalaburagi, Chikballapur, Mysuru, Madhugiri, Dharwad, Mangaluru and Belagavi from 12am on Monday to 12am on April 1. “All shops, commercial establishments, workshops and godowns dealing with non-essential services shall close operations subject to the exceptions mentioned below,” said the statement. According to the new rules, all labour intensive industries shall work at 50 per cent of their strength on rotation basis to ensure social distancing. No worker shall be removed from the job and the industries have been advised to sanction paid leave during these days.

All air-conditioned buses of the state road transport corporation, private buses inter-state and inter-district services will be stopped in the nine districts.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday announced it has set up India’s first dedicated COVID-19 hospital with 100-bed capacity in a short span of just two weeks. Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up the COVID-19 facility at Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai, the company said in a statement. The facility includes a negative pressure room that helps in preventing cross contamination and helps control infection. All beds are equipped with the required infrastructure, bio-medical equipments such as ventilators, pacemakers, dialysis machine and patient monitoring devices.

- with inputs from agencies