New Delhi:
The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in India is nearing 5,200 while the death toll has climbed to 149 on Wednesday amid hectic discussions for a possible extension of the 21-day lockdown beyond April 14 as several states already announced plans to ramp up their testing infrastructure and put in place strong ‘cluster containment’ plans in areas identified as hotspots of the outbreak.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said all COVID-19 hotspots in 15 districts of the state (Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Maharajganj, Sitapur, Basti and Firozabad) will be sealed till April 15 to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
“All coronavirus hotspots in 15 districts will be completely sealed till April 15 morning. Only home delivery will be allowed. These are places where a number of COVID-19 cases have been found,” Director, Information Shishir told a news agency.
These hotspots will be identified by the evening, Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Awanish Awasthi said.
Meanwhile, there were also indications about possible relaxations from a complete lockdown for some sectors, including agriculture and unorganised labour sector, at least in some states, while there were also talks about even stronger area-specific restrictions in some places.
Officials said that the lockdown and social distancing measures have helped contain the pandemic in a big way in India. Citing an ICMR study, the Health Ministry said just one COVID-19 patient can infect as many as 406 people in 30 days in the absence of preventive measures such as social distancing and the lockdown.
With the preventive measures, the possibility of the infection can be reduced to an average of just two-and-a-half persons per patient in the same period, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said in the central government’s daily briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday.
He said social distancing works like a “social vaccine” in management of COVID-19, but refrained from commenting on whether the ongoing nationwide lockdown would be extended or lifted after April 14.
“Whenever a decision is taken, it will be informed. Till a decision is officially communicated, please refrain from speculation,” he said.
There has been a nationwide lockdown since March 25, though some states had initiated such measures a few days earlier, to check the pandemic that has claimed more than 75,000 lives worldwide since its emergence in China last December. Over 13 lakh people have tested positive for the virus across the world so far.
Some states, however, indicateFd that the lockdown conditions could be relaxed for some segments.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said some relaxation on work front for unorganised sector workers was on anvil. She, however, made it clear that all must practice social distancing. The state government has identified seven COVID-19 hotspots in West Bengal.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, however, said his government will extend the lockdown if needed, while his counterpart in Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, said the state cannot withdraw the lockdown immediately and it has to be done in a phased manner.
A Karnataka government minister said it’s too early to take a call now on lifting the nation-wide lockdown but appeared favouring an extension by at least two weeks.
Addressing his ministers through video conferencing on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also indicated towards a graded approach to lift the lockdown.
The Prime Minister had also asked the ministers whether the restrictions should be lifted sector-wise or district-wise, a source said.
Modi has also asked the ministers to lay out plans to contain the economic impact of the pandemic.
Rating agency ICRA on Tuesday force as a GDP forecast of just 2 per cent for the current fiscal and said the Indian economy is estimated to have contracted by 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY20 ended March 31.
Industry body Retailers Association of India on the other hand warned that around 80,000 jobs were expected to be cut by various retailers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It had conducted a survey of 768 retailers, which employ 3,92,963 people across India, to gauge their view on the impact of COVID-19 on their business and manpower.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) also said the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to push around 40 crore informal sector workers in India deeper into poverty, with the lockdown and other containment measures affecting jobs and earnings.
The stock market, however, witnessed a sharp rebound on Tuesday with a 2,476-point rally in the benchmark Sensex, while the investors’ wealth measured in terms of market value of all listed companies rose by nearly Rs 7.7 lakh crore.
Shares of pharma companies especially saw a lot of surge after India decided to partially lift a ban on export of paracetamol and anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
The decision came a week after a telephonic conversation between Modi and US President Donald Trump, who sought supply of hydroxychloroquine to the US to treat coronavirus infected people.
Trump on Monday said he would be surprised if New Delhi did not relent to the request as it has good relations with Washington and warned India of retaliation if it did not export the anti-malarial drug despite his personal request.
Indian pharma companies said there is enough stock of hydroxychloroquine in the country, and drug firms are ready to ramp up the production to meet domestic as well as export requirements.
Agarwal said cluster containment strategies are producing required results in some areas like Agra, Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P), Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Bhilwara (Rajasthan), East Delhi and Mumbai and similar strategies are being adopted in other coronavirus-affected districts.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary R K Tiwari said, “There is still time for the lockdown and we will review the situation and then decide” on lifting it.
Several states, including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, also announced plans to ramp up the tests, while numerous leaders across the country urged the people to strictly follow the lockdown and social distancing measures including for religious rituals.
Gehlot, the Rajasthan chief minister, said the state will start rapid testing within a week and that it has ordered 10 lakh testing kits from China.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a five-point action plan of “five Ts — testing, tracing, treatment, team-work and tracking — and monitoring” to contain the virus spread and said one lakh random rapid COVID-19 tests will be conducted in the city’s hotspot areas. He said arrangements have been made to deal with as many as 30,000 cases.
Gujarat government has also decided to implement a cluster containment plan across 15 localities in four cities, which involves a complete lockdown of these areas.
Fresh cases were reported from Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu among other states, while Maharashtra reported at least 150 more testing positive to take the state’s tally to 1,018. More than 50 have died in the state.
