Record jump in COVID-19 cases in India, social distancing becomes must

March 21: India witnessed a record a jump in the total number of COVID-19 cases as 63 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Friday. Total number of Coronavirus cases in the country jumped past 230 with four deaths on Friday. At present (Saturday), there are 283 COVID-19 patients in India. Of these, 244 are Indians and 39 are foreign nationals. Till now 47 more cases of confirmed coronavirus were reported in India on Saturday.

In the global context, the total number of coronavirus affected persons is 2,86,955, out of which 1,81,364 are active cases whereas, 93,611 of them have recovered till now. On Saturday evening, the total number of corona related death stands at 11,980.

The countries which have been badly affected are:

• China (mainland): 81,008
• Italy: 47,021
• Spain: 25,374
• Germany: 21,652
• Iran: 20,610
• USA: 19,994
• France: 12,612
• South Korea: 8799
• Switzerland: 5544
• United Kingdom: 4000
• Netherlands: 3003
• Belgium: 2815
• Austria: 2690

There are many more countries which have coronavirus patients. The figures in the sub-continent including India is increasingly in an alarming way. Here is the state wise break up of the COVID-19 infected persons in India:

• Maharashtra: 52
• Kerala: 40
• Delhi: 26
• Uttar Pradesh: 24
• Telengana: 19
• Haryana: 17
• Rajasthan: 17
• Karnataka: 15
• Ladakh: 13
• Gujarat: 07
• Uttarakhand: 03
• Andhra Pradesh: 03
• Tamil Nadu: 03
• Himachal Pradesh: 02
• Punjab: 02
• West Bengal: 02
• Odisha: 02
• Chandigarh: 01
• Chhatisgarh: 01
• Puducherry: 01

The total number of coronavirus cases has climbed to 26 in the national capital. Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that all malls in the national capital will be shut. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and vegetable shops in the malls, however, will remain open. Earlier, the Delhi government shut down restaurants in the capital till 31 March.

In a drastic step to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday. In an address to the nation on Thursday evening, Modi asked citizens to voluntarily stay indoors from 7 am till 9 pm.

Most of the states in India, including Assam, have gone into a partial lockdown phase and has shut down schools, gyms, public pools, theatres, malls. Some have even shut pubs and restaurants. The Assam Chamber of Commerce in a press release issued on 21 March, 2020 informed that all shops and business establishments in the state shall remain closed on 22 and 23 March, 2020. The release of the Chamber further stated that, “Keeping in line with the Janata Curfew on 22 March, we like to appeal to all the business community of the state to observe 1 day Vyapar Bandh on 23 March, 2020 from 6 AM to 9 PM.”

(The data provided here are from https://bing.com/covid at 9 PM on 21 March, 2020.)