India Warns of U-Turn with Complete Lockdown Amid COVID Resurgence

Source: The Times of India

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As the spread of COVID-19 in India, which had slowed down for a while, intensifies again, major foreign media reported on the 28th (local time) that Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital Mumbai, is expected to enter a full lockdown once more.

According to local media such as The Times of India, Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, stated, "Following the recommendations of the COVID-19 task force, I have requested senior health officials to prepare for strict measures such as a full lockdown."

A senior official from the state government said, "We are preparing to implement phased lockdown measures," adding, "The lockdown measures could be enforced soon."

Earlier, Maharashtra decided to implement travel restrictions and night activity curfews starting from this day to curb the spread of COVID-19. Under these measures, local residents are prohibited from gathering in groups of five or more in public places from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. the following day.

The authorities plan to impose a fine of 1,000 rupees (approximately 15,600 KRW) for violations. During the enforcement hours, operations of hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and other venues experiencing severe COVID-19 outbreaks will also be banned.

Maharashtra's move toward reinstating lockdown measures comes as the number of confirmed cases in the region has been sharply increasing recently.

India's health authorities reported that the country's cumulative confirmed cases reached 11,971,624 on this day, an increase of 62,714 from the previous day, marking the largest daily increase since October last year.

The daily new confirmed cases in Maharashtra were only between 1,000 and 2,000 in early last month, but recently have exceeded 35,000 for three consecutive days.

Experts believe that the surge in cases is due to lax quarantine measures combined with the spread of highly transmissible variant viruses.

On the 24th, Indian health authorities announced that samples collected from Maharashtra revealed a "double mutation" variant virus carrying both E484Q and L452R mutations.

While Maharashtra is seeing a particularly high number of infections, foreign media reported that the spread is also rapidly increasing in other states such as Kerala, Punjab, and Karnataka.

There is particular concern that the virus could spread significantly during the upcoming 'Festival of Colors,' Holi, scheduled for the 28th to 29th.

During Holi, a spring festival, many Indians flood the streets, throwing colored powders or water balloons at strangers and coloring each other's bodies while enjoying the festivities, making it difficult for authorities to enforce 'social distancing.'

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