India, Shopping Malls, Restaurants, Hotels Resume Operations After Lockdown Lift... COVID-19 Spread Continues

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] India began gradually easing the lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) starting from the 8th (local time), reopening shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, and other establishments.

According to local media such as India Today, shopping malls, restaurants, religious facilities, historic sites, and hotels across India started reopening on this day. This comes after being closed for over two months since the lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 began on March 25. The Indian federal government decided to lift the lockdown in three phases.

While the federal government lifted the lockdown, some local governments maintained closures of certain spaces. New Delhi postponed hotel operations, and the world cultural heritage site Taj Mahal remained closed, showing differences in the level of easing controls depending on the local infection situation. Odisha state in eastern India decided to keep religious facilities, shopping malls, and hotels closed until the 30th of this month.

With the lifting of the lockdown, people in India began to resume activities in earnest. The problem is that the spread of COVID-19 continues within India. In fact, the daily number of new confirmed cases rose to the 4,000s in early last month when the lockdown began to be lifted and recently has approached 10,000.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on this day, the cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in India was recorded at 256,611, an increase of 9,983 from the previous day. The daily number of new confirmed cases continues to set record highs. The death toll reached 7,200, an increase of 271 from the previous day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.