(Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2020) From Krishnan Nayar NEW DELHI, 15th June, 2020 (WAM) – Racing to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 infections in its urban areas, Indian cities today announced a series of stringent steps, some bordering on a new lockdown.
In Tamil Nadu state, the local government declared a total lockdown from 19th June till the end of this month in the state capital of Chennai. The cities of Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram and the entire district of Chengalpattu will also be in lockdown.
In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, representatives of all political parties attended an unprecedented meeting called by India’s Home Minister Amit Shah even as sweeping steps were announced, including a decision to shut down one of the capital’s main railways stations and convert all its seven platforms into makeshift COVID-19 hospitals.
Five hundred train coaches are being parked between these seven platforms after converting them into healthcare facilities, providing 8,000 beds for treatment of COVID-19 patients to overcome shortage of accommodation in regular hospitals.
Shah announced the doubling of testing for COVID-19 infections in Delhi within the next two days and trebling of testing capacity in six days. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, ruled out the re-imposition of total lockdown in the national capital.
The state of Karnataka imposed a three-day institutional quarantine for those coming into Karnataka from Chennai and Delhi followed by 11 days of home quarantine. Karnataka already quarantines for 14 days people coming from Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra state.
Meanwhile, Kerala relaxed the rules for people travelling to the state for upto seven days, allowing them to enter Kerala without having to undergo mandatory quarantine. This will apply to those entering the state for government work, business, medical purposes, court cases and real estate dealings.
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today said India so far had recorded 332,424 COVID-19 infections. Of these, there have been 169,798 recoveries and 9,520 deaths, leaving 153,106 active cases at present.
