SINGAPORE, 22 April 2021: India’s capital New Delhi declared a lockdown on Monday that will stay in place for at least a week. Other cities and states consider lockdowns following a surge in daily cases that tipped 295,041 cases and 2,023 deaths on Tuesday.
India’s Covid-19 infections since January 2020 reached 15,616,130 with 182,553 fatalities as of Tuesday.
It is very likely that Maharashtra will follow with a lockdown of 15 days, according to reports in the Indian Express. Rajasthan has ordered the closure of offices and markets until 3 May.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Tuesday night, said the “second wave of Covid-19 has swept the country like a “toofan” (storm) and called on citizens not to lose heart in this adversity. He requested states to use lockdown as a last resort and focus only on micro-containment zones.”
Meanwhile, Air India stopped all flights between India and UK from 24 to 30 April after the UK government banned visitors from India. Air India serves London from Delhi and Mumbai.
The UK ban on travel from India is effective from 23 April and impacts all visitors who have been in or transited through India in the previous 10 days. British and Irish nationals and third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK arriving in England from India will be required to quarantine in a hotel.
The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, cancelled a planned trip to India earlier this week, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called off his visit to India and the Philippines due to a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Japan.
Meanwhile, Cambodia lockdown the capital Phnom Penh and Takhmao City on 15 April. It will remain closed until at least 28 April. The cumulative Covid-19 count is a low 7,444 with just 49 deaths, but the public health service and hospitals are finding it more difficult to cope with a more contagious variant, prompting the decision to lock down the capital city.
Thailand has stopped short of a lockdown following a runaway surge in cases exceeding 1,000 daily since mid-April, with infections reported in all 77 provinces. The worst-hit are Bangkok and Chiang Mai, where field hospitals have opened to handle the overflow of cases from state hospitals that are fast running out of beds.
On Wednesday, the country reported 1,458 new cases, with 46,643 cumulative cases since January 2020. The death toll stands at 110.
