Nineteen out of India’s total 28 states and nine union territories have ordered a complete lockdown in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
Six states and union territories have issued a full lockdown only in certain districts, while three states/union territories have imposed partial restrictions to promote social distancing, said the country’s Junior Health Secretary Lav Agarwal at a press conference on Monday.
In states that have imposed a complete lockdown, only essential services will be operational. These water, electricity, health services, fire services, groceries and municipal services.
All shops, commercial establishments, factories, workshops, offices, markets and places of worship will be closed and interstate buses and metros will be suspended. Construction activity will also be on a halt during this period.
The 19 states/union territories that have implemented a total lockdown are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
In Delhi and Mumbai, gatherings of more than five and four people respectively are prohibited and will be a chargeable offence.
In a tweet posted by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Cabinet Secretary has written letters to State Chief Secretaries “highlighting that states must monitor situation 24×7, additional restrictions if necessary may be imposed, all current restrictions must be enforced strongly and all violations should be met with legal action.”
The lockdown will be in place until March 31.
