NEW DELHI: with three more coronavirus deaths being reported on Sunday — one each from Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra — and the successful experiment of Janata curfew across the country, the Centre advised states to lock down all virus-affected districts immediately to break the chain of transmission.
The advisory came on a day when Kerala reported a whopping 15 fresh cases, taking the state’s tally to 67 and edging closer to Maharashtra’s 74.
While the initial lockdown data had 75 districts, by the time the data was hosted on the Union health ministry’s site, the figure had shot up to 83.
Quite a few states and most metropolitan cities will go into complete shutdown from Monday, by when Kerala, too, will take its call. Going by the Centre’s advisory, Kerala should have shut down 10 virus-affected districts.
Karnataka announced nine districts would be locked down even though it was asked to shut only four as six more cases were reported on Sunday. Delhi, Telangana and Jharkhand announced complete lockdown, while states like Rajasthan and Punjab are already under full lockdown.
As on Sunday, the national toll stood at seven, while confirmed cases shot up to 396, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The big talking point of the day was the spontaneity with which people across the country observed Janata curfew and the unity of purpose they showed to honour healthcare workers by clapping/beating plates at 5 pm for five minutes as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For his part, Modi called the Janata curfew the beginning of a long battle against the virus.
Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Secretary held a high-level meeting with chief secretaries of all states via video-conferencing. All states were directed to designate separate hospitals for exclusively treating coronavirus patients.
What’s closed
What’s open
Essential services like ration, groceries, milk, pharmacies, transport to the hospital, skeletal bus service.
Stock exchanges to function; banks in Maharashtra to stay open.
States shut
Telangana l Rajasthan l Goa l Delhi l Jharkhand l Nagaland l urban Maharashtra l urban Chhattisgarh.
Manufacturing halts
Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda Cars have suspended manufacturing operations across plants.
Have a heart for AI crew
Neighbours ostracising Air India crew who went abroad on duty. Police help sought to ensure the crew members are treated with respect.
Full shutdown
Dubai carrier Emirates announced suspension all passenger flights from March 25.
List of districts that will go under lockdown
Andhra Pradesh: Prakasam, Nellore, Vijayawada, Vizag
Bihar: Munger, Patna
Chandigarh
Chattisgarh: Raipur
Delhi: Central Delhi, North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi, North Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi, East Delhi
Gujarat: Rajkot, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodra
Haryana: Faridabad, Sonepat, Gurugram, Panipat, Sonepat
Himachal Pradesh: Kangra
Jammu & Kashmir: Jammu, Kashmir
Karnataka: Kodagu, Kalaburgi, Bengaluru, Bengaluru (Rural)
Kerala: Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Patahanamthitta, Idukki, Kannur, Kasargod, Kottayam, Malapurram, Thrissur
Ladakh: Kargil, Leh
Madhya Pradesh: Jabalpur
Maharashtra: Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Nagpur, Pune, Ratnagiri, Thane, Yavatmal
Odisha: Khurda
Puducherry: Mahe
Punjab: Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, SAS Nagar, SBS Nagar
Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Pali, Bhilwara, Jodhpur, Sikar
Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Erode, Kanchipuram
Telangana: Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Bhadadri-Kothagudam, Nalgonda, Medchal
Uttar Pradesh: Agra, GB Nagar, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Lucknow, Lakhimpur-Kheri
Uttarakhand: Dehradun
West Bengal: Kolkata