India’s prime minister ordered all 1.3 billion people in the country to stay inside their homes for three weeks starting Wednesday — the biggest and most severe action undertaken anywhere to stop the spread of the corona virus.
“There will be a total ban of coming out of your homes,” the prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced on television Tuesday night, giving Indians less than four hours’ notice before the order took effect at 12:01 a.m.
“Every state, every district, every lane, every village will be under lockdown,” Mr. Modi said.
The breadth and depth of such a challenge is staggering in a country where hundreds of millions of citizens are destitute and countless millions live in packed urban areas with poor sanitation and weak public health care.
As covid-19 takes a firm grip over India, the central and state authorities are working in overdrive to try and curb the spread. As per latest government data, covid-19 has affected over 562 people in the country, killing ten.
The Indian Centre for Medical Research (ICMR) has maintained that the virus is still in phase 2 of transmission, which means there is no evidence of local transmission yet. As the cases climb, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a complete lockdown in the country for 21 days and the Health Ministry has said states would need to earmark hospitals to exclusively treat corona virus patients.
What is a lockdown?
A lockdown is an emergency protocol that prevents people from leaving a given area. A full lockdown will mean you must stay where you are and not exit or enter a building or the given area.
This scenario usually allows for essential supplies, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks to continue to serve the people. All non-essential activities remain shut for the entire period.
India, at the moment, is not under complete lockdown. However, severe travel restrictions have been imposed on some states, and public places have been shut. Rail, intercity bus services have been suspended throughout the country.
What are essential activities?
Essential activities include picking up groceries and medical supplies, going to doctor and going on a walk provided you are following social distancing. If you work for an essential service, you will not need to adhere to these restrictions.
What happens if you break the rules?
Anyone breaking the rules could be punished with simple imprisonment for a term that may extend up to one month or with a fine which may extend to Rs 200, or with both.
Can you go to work?
Most major cities in the country have ordered private companies to let employees work from home. All offices will remain shut or work with minimal staff till the end of the lockdown period. The central and several state governments have announced relief packages for daily-wage earners and other temporary workers.
What if you have an emergency?
Emergency services, like hospitals and pharmacies, will continue to operate as usual.
Though India’s number of reported corona virus infections remains relatively low — around 500 — the fear is that, should the virus hit as it has in the United States, Europe or China, the consequences would lead to a disaster far bigger than anywhere else.
The nationwide lockdown followed a series of decrees that had been steadily growing more stringent, and some people had been expecting Mr. Modi to announce something even more severe, like a nationwide state of emergency and declaration of martial law.
All said and done it’s our personal responsibility to ensure that we are following the law. As when you travel in a flight, the safety instructions mention to take precaution of self and then the other people.
SO STAY SAFE BE AT HOME DONT MOVE OUT UNLESS ITS AN EMERGENCY
Disclaimer: All the views in the blog are personal of the author not attributing to any one
