Delhi to Mumbai: Janata Curfew against coronavirus empties out cities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to stay indoors from 7am to 9am as a self-imposed lockdown called Janata Curfew against the cornavirus.

India is under a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic in the country, where 324 people have so far been found to have contracted the disease. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation last week urged citizens to stay indoors from 7am to 9am--a move that he said would be a crucial test for a country to assess its abilities to fight the pandemic.

"Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against the COVID-19 menace," Modi tweeted minutes before the curfew commenced. "The steps we take now will help in the times to come," he said in the tweet.

News agencies reported two new deaths from the disease, likely taking the country's total toll to six. 

Health experts said India's cases have been growing at a rate seen during the early stages of the outbreak in other countries, which subsequently reported exponential increases in infections. Roads were empty in Mumbai, a city of 22 million people that has shut its city trains and buses, as Maharashtra ramped up social-distancing measures. The state till Saturday had reported 64 coronavirus cases--the most in India.

 

Delhi has closed the city's Metro service for the day to "encourage public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing". Markets, malls and theatres are closed too in the national capital.

Kolkata's Esplanade and Dalhousie landmarks were empty, as were the city's airport and railway stations. 

Several states announced measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. Four cities in Modi's home state of Gujarat have declared a complete shutdown until March 25.

Punjab, Rajasthan Maharashtra, Odisha, and Bihar will shut down till March 31, while eastern and central states suspended inter-state bus operations to prevent an exodus of daily wage earners from urban centres to villages. The Eastern and South Eastern Railway cancelled several trains originating from the two zones between 4 am and 10 pm on Sunday, run skeletal services for the day.

 

State leaders urged citizens not to rush to villages, avoid crowding trains and buses to prevent the virus spread. Tensions have mounted, however, with angry labourers protesting at some bus stations against sudden closures of basic transport services.

Private events, such as weddings, and local elections were cancelled. The central government was accelerating the production of masks and allowed deodorant manufacturers to produce sanitisers.

Modi has requested citizens to stand at balconies and near windows on Sunday evening to clap, ring bells to admire the emergency personnel and sanitation workers who are at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus.