Virus spike forces Indian states back into lockdown

AFP

Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, went into lockdown on Thursday, but near-normal traffic on the capital’s streets showed the difficulty of confining over 125 million people.

The lockdown in the northern state bordering Nepal started as India reported more than 600 deaths in the previous 24 hours, and the Red Cross warned the virus was spreading at “an alarming rate.”

With India’s Covid-19 caseload on course to hit 1 million today or tomorrow — and fatalities approaching 25,000 — local authorities across the country are reimposing restrictions that have only recently been lifted.

Bihar, a largely rural state with feeble health infrastructure, went into a 15-day lockdown a day after IT hub Bangalore — home to 13 million people — shut down for a week.

All schools, clubs, temples and non-essential businesses were ordered to close in Bihar, but construction and agricultural activity can continue.

And while public transport was shut down, private vehicles are still allowed to operate, and traffic in the state capital, Patna, appeared to be as busy as ever yesterday morning.

“We have not faced such a situation in my life before, it is really a horrible experience,” said Radhika Singh, a housewife in her late 40s as she jostled to buy rice and lentils on Wednesday before the lockdown.

A lack of coronavirus discipline forced Goa, another Indian state, to announced a three-day shutdown from yesterday evening and a night curfew until August 10.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said too many people were “stepping out to meet people at parties” and that there was a low level of “awareness and sensitivity.”

“We have more than 40,000 people fined for not wearing masks, plus there are many who are detained for flouting rules, but they continue to loiter,” Sawant said.

“This only establishes that people only understand the language of the law.”

Bangalore appeared to be coping far better. Many firms that handle the back-office operations of global corporations were little affected by the reimposed restrictions having already working from home.

Still, the health minister of Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital, said on Wednesday that “only God can save us” as the number of cases in the state approached 50,000.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that the entire region is fast becoming the next epicenter for the coronavirus.

“While the world’s attention has been focused on the unfolding crisis in the United States and South America, a concurrent human tragedy is fast emerging in South Asia,” the organization said.

“COVID-19 is spreading at an alarming rate in South Asia, home to a quarter of humanity.”