COVID restrictions now cover more than half of India

Given the surge in COVID cases and daily deaths recorded on Friday (April 16), restrictions placed by various state governments now cover more than half of the country.

The daily death count on April 16 due to the pandemic reached 1,341. The last time the country recorded the worst death count was on September 15, when 1,284 people had died.

A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India’s COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday (April 17).

Also read: 10 states, including Maharashtra and UP, account for nearly 80 per cent of new COVID-19 cases

Here’s how the situation is unfolding following curbs announced by various states:

Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh: Curfews extends all day long, and on all days of the week. In Maharashtra, curfew will be imposed in all districts for 15 days. In Chhattisgarh, the restrictions are limited to 20 districts and in MP to 15 districts.

Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Odisha: Weekend curfews enforced in Delhi, Chandigarh and Rajasthan, and urban areas of 10 districts in Odisha.

Uttar Pradesh: A statewide curfew on Sunday. The state government has doubled the fine to ₹1,000 for those caught without masks for the first time and 10 times the amount for those caught again.

Also read: Daily COVID-19 deaths may go above 2,000 by June, says Lancet study

Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Bihar: Completely shutdown at night.

Karnataka, Gujarat and J&K: Night curfews are limited to urban areas or districts reporting large number of cases. In Karnataka, the state government on April 16 night issued fresh set of restrictions that states more than 200 people will not be allowed in open spaces while a limit of 100 people has been capped for enclosed spaces for wedding ceremonies. The new COVID-19 guidelines also ban religious gatherings and cap political gatherings in open spaces at 200.

Experts say lockdown is definitely not a solution. They want strict mask wearing and crowd control measures. There should be restrictions in public places such as restaurants, places of worship, and on gatherings, and restriction in the number of persons attending weddings and funerals.