indica News Bureau-
Coronavirus pandemic has entered the third stage, community transmission, in India and the number of infected patients has gone up to 471. To stop the pandemic from spreading further, major states of India have declared a complete lockdown and the government has also decided to suspend all domestic flights from March 24, midnight.
The cases of infections more than doubled in the past four days. Just on March 19, India had reported 169 cases. The country has also seen nine deaths–the most recent one in Himachal Pradesh.
As the infections kept the upward trajectory, state governments decided to take extraordinary measures and extend restrictions.
Almost all major states in India have imposed a complete lockdown. Only Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha are the ones that have announced partial lockdown of some areas. Lakshwadeep has only announced restrictions on some activities. Sikkim and Mizoram have not issued any order yet, reported Bloomberg Quint.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced as he noted that many people are not taking the measure seriously. The central government has also said that there will be legal action against violators of the lockdown.
According to data from the Indian Council of Medical Research, a total of 20,707 samples from 19,817 individuals have been tested for SARS-CoV2.
To further deter the viruses from spreading through contact, no domestic commercial passenger flight will be allowed to operate in the country from Tuesday midnight till April 1, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement on March 23.
India has already banned international flights for a week from Sunday.
“The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease with effect from the midnight that is 23.59 hours IST (Indian Standard Time) on March 24, 2020, ”a ministry spokesperson said. “Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destinations before 23.59 hours on March 24, 2020.”
The restrictions will not apply to cargo flights but will be applicable to private jets.
The order will remain in effect till midnight of March 31.
