India said yesterday it will shut down domestic flights to halt the spread of coronavirus as the number of people dying of the disease ticked up across densely populated country.
India has reported 415 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump could be imminent, which would overwhelm the underfunded and crumbling public health infrastructure.
Yesterday, India confirmed its eighth death – of a 54-year-old man in West Bengal with no history of foreign travel, suggesting the start of community transmission of the virus, officials said.
Streets were deserted in the national capital Delhi and offices shut at the start of a lockdown to run till the end of the month.
The government ordered commercial airlines to shut down domestic operations from midnight today on top of a ban on international flights to try and contain the coronavirus.
Only cargo flights will be allowed.
“Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 2359 hours on March 24, 2020,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
“The restrictions shall not apply to cargo flights.”
Meanwhile, due to the lockdown in Delhi, passengers were left stranded outside terminal building due to unavailability of public transport.
About 144mn people travelled on domestic flights last year.
“Covid-19 pandemic is crippling the global economy and aviation including India’s once-booming aviation sector for years to come,” Devesh Agarwal, the editor of the Bangalore Aviation website, said.
“This is not a short-term pandemic and the outlook for Indian aviation looks tragic. The aviation sector in India is decimated right now. This is similar worldwide.”
“International traffic to Mumbai had also fallen more than 55% in the month of March amid the increasing flight restrictions,” a Mumbai Airport spokeswoman said.
Rail travel, the lifeline of India, has already been suspended after thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, swarmed train stations to go home as businesses shut down and jobs dried up.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said many people were not taking the lockdown seriously.
“Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously,” he said on Twitter.
“I request state governments to ensure that the rules and laws are followed,” Modi tweeted in Hindi.
Across India, more than 80 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru yesterday began a complete lockdown, which means that only essential services would be allowed.
Government utility offices and essential services – including shops selling groceries, banks, hospitals and pharmacies – will remain open.
Police have imposed prohibitory orders across different cities banning gatherings of more than four people.
But in Delhi, scores of migrant workers crowded the Anand Vihar bus station to board buses to go home.
Also, at several places in the eastern state of Bihar, crowds were seen panic-buying at grocery shops while others were roaming around.
Elsewhere, there have been complaints that bans on transport was impacting supplies of essential items, vegetables and medicines.
Maharashtra, which has had the highest number of cases in India, ordered a curfew from today to force people indoors.
“Despite multiple requests, people are not following rules. This compelled the government to impose the curfew,” Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said.
The country’s main stock exchange located in Mumbai, will however remain open, an official said.
Newspapers cancelled print runs in Mumbai after vendors refused to distribute them due to worries about the coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year and has spread around the world.