Mother Earth could breathe easy yesterday! Sigh… as more than one billion people in India stayed home. Octogenarians across metro cities who have seen decades of life pass by said, `with vehicles off the roads, sparrows were chirping and dolphins were spotted swimming near the Mumbai sea shore with fishing activity having come to a standstill.”
Mumbai, the city of dreams, which `never ever sleeps’ actually took a break. These are unprecedented times when a virus has brought the city to a standstill. Overcrowded suburban locals who ferry more than 7.5 million commuters daily took a break. Spread over 390 kms the suburban railways which operate 2,342 trains daily have never ever been shut down. One of the busiest commuter networks in the world, the local trains are a lifeline of Mumbai.
Bottomline is, the country responded very well to the Junta Curfew. But, hold on, this is just the beginning. It has been announced that more than 75 districts which have reported the Corona Virus infections will be in a state of lockdown till March 31st. This is to prevent community spread of the virus.
The confirmed cases of COVID -19 have peaked to 396 in India. As per the Health Ministry, many of the new cases are from local transmission . This remains a matter of great concern. So, the only way to break the chain of transmission is to isolate the people or Quarantine them
Cities like Mumbai have even imposed Section 144 till the end of this month; Metro rail services and interstate bus travel have been brought to a halt until March 31. Indian Railways, too, have decided to suspend all passenger trains till March 31.
The 779.25 million km long network is the lifeline of India’s public transport. In 2018-19, railways carried over 8 billion passengers across the country.
What is a Lockdown?
A lockdown is an emergency protocol that prevents people from leaving a given area. A full lockdown will mean you must stay where you are and not exit or enter a building or the given area.
- This scenario usually allows for essential supplies, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks to continue to serve the people. All non-essential activities remain shut for the entire period.
- India, at the moment, is not under complete lockdown. However, severe travel restrictions have been imposed on some states, and public places have been shut. Rail, intercity bus services have been suspended throughout the country.
What happens is you break the rules in the lockdown?
Anyone breaking the rules, could be punished with simple imprisonment for a term that may extend up to one month or with a fine which may extend to Rs 200, or with both.
What are essential activities?
Essential activities include picking up groceries and medical supplies, going to doctor and going on a walk provided you are following social distancing. If you work for an essential service, you will not need to adhere to these restrictions.
Meanwhile, 60 private labs have registered so far to conduct COVID-19 tests. There are 111 government National Institute of Virology (NIV) labs are ramping up for the task. Moreover, private labs with a network of thousands of collection centres are stepping up too
