India locks down 30 states, UTs; curfew in Punjab, Maharashtra, coronavirus COVID-19 death toll 9

Representational Image courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: In the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the lockdown has been extended to 30 states and Union Territories, covering 548 districts, according to Centre's communication to state governments. Three states/UTs, however, have imposed lockdown in certain areas of their territories covering as many as 58 districts.

Curfew has been imposed in Punjab, Maharashtra, and Puducherry on Monday (March 23) as state governments acted with a sense of urgency to strictly enforce the restrictions on the movement of people, deploying police on streets, sealing borders and booking violators.

Punjab became the first state to go ahead with a curfew as Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today announced a state-wide curfew in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The state government also announced Rs 20 crore from the Chief Minister`s relief fund to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

The Chief Minister, after reviewing the situation with Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh and DGP Dinkar Gupta, announced "full curfew with no relaxations." The orders came as Amarinder Singh announced a slew of relief measures to support the affected masses as a result of the restrictions imposed in the light of the growing coronavirus threat.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also imposed the curfew across the state to check the spread of coronavirus. Issuing a message to people of Maharashtra, through social media, Thackeray said, "Today I am compelled to announce a statewide curfew. People were not listening and we are compelled." 

Thackeray further adding, "Essentials like groceries, milk, bakery, medical, etc will remain open. People need not panic. All religious places will remain closed. Only the priests and clerics alone will be inside and pray." The state has reported 97 cases.

Meanwhile in Delhi on Monday night, Section 144 of CrPC was imposed. Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava told ANI, "In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in Delhi. We expect that everyone will stay at home other than people related to essential services. Strict action will be taken against those who will not follow the restrictions." 

Earlier today, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that lockdown imposed in the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic will strictly be enforced in the national capital as Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the state governments to ensure that rules of lockdown are followed properly.

Kejriwal tweeted, "I completely agree with you, Sir. Today, several people violated the lockdown. This is not acceptable. Due to this, the health of all citizens is at risk. This would be strictly enforced in Delhi." 

Meanwhile, the lockdown was also imposed in many districts of six other states and UTs, but concerns mounted that people were not following the restrictions, prompting the Centre to ask the states to take strict legal action against those defying the curbs and increasing the risk of community transmission as the number of cases mounted to above 430.

According to media reports, Kerala, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh ordered statewide lockdown on Monday till March 31, joining Delhi, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Nagaland. Similar curbs were announced in multiple districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, allowing only essential services, barring people from venturing out and restricting entry and exit of people at borders.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami told the Assembly that the state will be under a lockdown till March 31 from 6 PM on Tuesday. 

Several state governments have also issued advisory to private establishments not to terminate employees or reduce wages.

A day after the Janta curfew, when people voluntarily stayed indoors for 14 hours across the country, people were seen on roads, markets and heading to bus terminals. This irked Prime Minister Narendra Modi who lamented that the people were not following the restrictions seriously. He urged the states to ensure that rules and regulations are followed.

After the suspension of all passenger trains and interstate bus services till March 31, the central government today announced that no domestic flight will be allowed to operate in the country from midnight Tuesday till the month-end.

Like Punjab, Delhi, and Maharashtra, other chief ministers have also urged the people to strictly follow the restrictions, warning that action will be taken against the violators.

Twenty-nine people have been booked in Rajasthan for violating prohibitory orders and spreading rumours, while a case was registered in Ahmedabad against the group of residents who assembled on Sunday evening in Khadia when people rang bells and other instruments to pay tributes to the frontline staff involved in the fight against coronavirus.

The action was also taken against people violating quarantine guidelines. In Odisha, police said criminal cases were registered against four persons including a Bhubaneswar-based couple, for violating quarantine guidelines.

In Kerala, priest Pauly Padayatti, Vicar of the Lady of Perpetual Help Church at Koodapuzha in Chalakudy, was arrested and later let off on bail for conducting a mass on Monday morning in which at least 100 people had participated, police told PTI.

Police personnel, wearing masks, were deployed in strength across the Jammu region to enforce the lockdown to counter the spread of novel coronavirus in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Over 35 districts in Madhya Pradesh have so far declared lockdown, including state capital Bhopal, where new Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was administered the oath of office on Monday at 9 pm.  

Notably, establishments providing essential services like the ones tasked with law and order and magisterial duties, police, medical and health, sanitation, fire services, banks and ATMs, electricity, water supply, etc are out of the purview of restrictions.