Almost entire country under restrictions as 2nd COVID wave spreads tentacles

Almost the entire country is now under COVID-induced restrictions with many states and UTs having already extended lockdowns or similar restrictions on movements of people to contain the spread of the pandemic.

A protracted second wave is shrinking incomes and wiping out savings of people, posing the risk of a double blow for Asia’s third-largest economy that’s still struggling to recover from last year’s COVID-induced recession.

Many economists are cutting their forecasts for the current fiscal year as rising joblessness and declining savings dim the chances of a double-digit growth.

India on Monday (May 10) recorded 366,161 more cases and 3,754 deaths in the last 24 hours. This is for the first time after four straight days that India’s COVID count has risen by less than 4 lakh fresh infections.

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Here’s how various state governments and UTs are battling against the second deadly wave:

J&K, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand

The lockdown or ‘Corona Curfew’ imposed in Jammu and Kashmir has been extended by a week till 7 am on May 17, officials said on Sunday (May 9). According to the new COVID guidelines, only essential services will be allowed to operate. The guest limit for marriage gatherings has been reduced to 25 only. Officials said security forces have sealed several roads by putting barricades at many places in Srinagar as well as in other district headquarters of the valley to prevent the movement of people. Night curfew will continue in all municipal/urban local body limits of all 20 districts.

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to suspend public transport from May 10, an official spokesperson said. Private vehicles will be allowed in case of emergency services. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday, he said. It was also decided that the daily needs and essential commodity shops will remain open only for three hours in a day and timing of the same will be fixed by the deputy commissioners concerned, the spokesperson said. Coronavirus curfew is already in force in the state from May 7-17.

The Uttarakhand government on May 9 announced ‘COVID curfew’ in the state from 6 am on May 11 to 6 am on May 18, during which only essential services will be allowed, according to State Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal. He said interstate travelers will now have to mandatorily produce a negative RT-PCR test report which is not older than 72 hours. Also, people of the state coming from outside will have to undergo mandatory 7-day isolation.

Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan

Punjab continues with weekend lockdown and night curfew which will be in force till May 15. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on May 8 reiterated that violation of the weekend lockdown would not be allowed given the grim COVID-19 situation, even as 32 farmer unions took out protest marches against the restriction at several places in the state.

The Rajasthan government has imposed ‘stricter lockdown’ from May 10 (Monday) to May 24. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has directed the officials to strictly implement the lockdown and take strict action against the violators. Gehlot has also appealed to the Centre to consider a nationwide lockdown

Haryana has extended lockdown by a week till May 17, according to state Health Minister Anil Vij.

Delhi & Uttar Pradesh

The national capital and Uttar Pradesh on May 9 extended the ongoing lockdown and corona curfew respectively till May 17. Metro services in Delhi have been suspended. The UP government said all essential services like medical-related work, COVID-19 vaccination and industrial activity will continue in the state. It, however, said that people would need an e-pass for intra-district and inter-district travel in the state.

Bihar, Jharkhand & N-E

The Bihar government last week announced a lockdown from May 5 till May 15, with guidelines that all offices, educational institutions, religious places and business establishments will be closed with the exception of essential services, including construction, agriculture and allied activities. The Patna High Court, had last week criticized the state government for its failure to control the COVID situation and asked it to enforce a lockdown or “the court will order it.”

Jharkhand has lockdown-like restrictions till May 13.

The Assam and Tripura governments have resisted total lockdown, opting for restricted market, business and office hours and imposition of night curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. till the next announcement.

Mizoram is the only state to have announced a lockdown-like mechanism for seven days from 4 a.m. of May 10, with no resident in capital Aizawl and the district headquarters allowed to come out of their homes.

While the Arunachal Pradesh government decided to enforce a seven-day total lockdown in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) from May 10, the Manipur government said a curfew would be imposed in seven of the state’s 16 districts. In Nagaland, much of state capital Kohima and commercial hub Dimapur have been declared containment zones, which residents said was akin to lockdown. The state government has night curfew and daytime restrictions in place.

The Meghalaya government on May 8 extended lockdown in East Khasi Hills district till May 17, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said. State capital Shillong is located in East Khasi Hills district. Earlier, a complete lockdown had been imposed in the district from 8 pm of May 5 to 5 a.m. of May 10. Of the new 297 COVID-19 cases recorded in the northeastern state on May 7, 180 were recorded in the East Khasi Hills district alone.

West Bengal & Odisha

West Bengal on Saturday (May 8) registered its highest single-day COVID-19 deaths with 127 new fatalities, pushing the death toll to 12,203, the state health department said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced many restrictions to contain the COVID-19 surge in the state, including suspending all local train services and reducing metro services and state transport services by half. All social and political gatherings are prohibited, and only cultural events and weddings could be held with prior permission, and the not more than 50 people would be allowed. Markets are allowed to function from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. From May 7 onwards, no flight will be allowed in Bengal without all the RT-PCR negative tests for all passengers.

Odisha is in the midst of a statewide lockdown and weekend shutdown. The 14-day-long lockdown began from May 5 and will continue till May 19. Except emergency services, movement of people has been restricted, while grocery and vegetable vendors have been allowed to operate till noon every day.

Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on May 6 declared his government’s decision to extend the the statewide ‘Janata curfew’ till May 15. During a virtual address, the CM directed officials to ensure that the ‘corona curfew’ is enforced without any laxity. He asked people to defer wedding plans and officials in all districts to review measures to reduce gatherings. Chouhan said small teams should be formed in each village to coordinate with authorities. MNREGA work should be put on hold for the time being in villages where positive cases have been recorded, he said, adding, the state government will provide ration to those in need.

In Maharashtra, as COVID cases are slowing down, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope has hinted that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led government may extend the lockdown till May 31. The state had imposed lockdown-like restrictions from April 22 to May 1. The lockdown was later extended till May 15 owing to the huge spike in COVID cases and the rising death toll.

Chhattisgarh & Andhra Pradesh

The Chhattisgarh government on May 10 said only 10 persons will be allowed to attend weddings and funerals in the state, while all kinds of religious, social, political, social and other programmes will continue to remain prohibited in the state. The General Administration Department issued the guidelines for all divisional commissioners (revenue), Inspector General of Police (IGPs), district collectors and Superintendents of Police (SPs).

In Andhra Pradesh, the government has ordered a 14-day partial curfew in the state from May 5 onwards. The emergency pass (e-pass) system that was in place during the nationwide lockdown last year, will be revived in the state to enable people enter Andhra Pradesh during extended curfew hours for their emergency needs, said Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang.

Telangana & Karnataka

The Telangana government on Friday (May 7) imposed more COVID-19 restrictions in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the state. The number of persons attending weddings and funerals were capped while all other public gatherings were banned in the state. As per the latest order, the ongoing night curfew across the state will remain in effect from 9 pm to 5 am every night for seven more days. The curfew will remain in effect till May 15.

In Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on May 10 appealed to the people to abide by the strict lockdown-like restrictions in Karnataka from Monday for the next fortnight. “As we begin the 14-day strict restriction to break the chain of infection, I request all citizens to follow the guidelines in letter and spirit,” the Chief Minister tweeted. Karnataka has been reporting about 50,000 cases daily while the active cases are close to six lakh.

Goa

The state’s COVID-19 positivity rate has reached the grim mark of 41 per cent. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on May 7 imposed a complete curfew in Goa from May 9 to May 23.

Tamil Nadu & Kerala

Chief Minister M K Stalin on May 8 announced a complete lockdown across the state. The lockdown will be in force from 4 am on May 10 till 4 am on May 24. Stalin announcement was made after holding consultations with medical and public health experts, and also as per the guidance of the Union Home Ministry. He said the decision was taken under the State Disaster and Management Act.

In Kerala, amid the surge in COVID-19 infection, the nine-day statewide lockdown started on May 8. The lockdown, which began at 6 am, will be effective till May 16. Only essential and emergency services are allowed. Vehicles will be allowed only if they are carrying ID cards of essential or emergency services and those who carry a pass issued by the police and having a self-declaration affidavit. Self-declaration forms are compulsory for emergency travel during the lockdown. Vehicles related to hospital emergencies and media vehicles are also exempted from the restrictions.

Puducherry

Puducherry on May 8 announced a complete lockdown to contain the spread of the viral disease in the Union Territory. The restriction will come into effect from May 10 midnight. “The government of Puducherry had issued restriction orders to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus but the cases have not stabilized, but have risen since then. The last such lockdown order dated April 27, 2021 was effective up to May 3, 2021. As the curve is still not flattened, it is necessary to continue the restrictions beyond May 10, 2021 midnight to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission,” reads the notification issued by the UT administration.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Tourist spots and cinema halls will be shut for one month from April 22 and night curfew will be extended by one hour with immediate effect in Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the archipelago is witnessing a spike in Covid-19 cases, a notification said. The restrictions were necessitated as a large number of cases are being detected among tourists coming from the mainland, some of whom have been found to be tampering with COVID test reports, for which FIRs have been registered against them, it said.

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