- Title: Markets, beaches lay deserted as India launches curfew to curb coronavirus
- Date: 22nd March 2020
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) CAR ON DESERTED RAJPATH, INDIA'S CEREMONIAL BOULEVARD LEADING TO INDIA GATE WAR MEMORIAL INDIA GATE WAR MEMORIAL DESERTED ROAD IN FRONT OF INDIAN PARLIAMENT VARIOUS OF CLOSED GATES OF METRO STATION PIGEONS ON DESERTED CONNAUGHT PLACE AREA OF NEW DELHI PIGEONS VARIOUS OF DESERTED CONNAUGHT PLACE AREA OF NEW DELHI NOTICE OUTSIDE SHOP READING INFORMATION ON SHUT DOWN INDIA'S ICONIC JAMA MASJID MOSQUE CLOSED GATES OF MOSQUE OLD DELHI'S CHANDNI CHOWK AREA MAN SITTING AT SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DELHI RESIDENT, MURSHAD, SAYING: "This (voluntary curfew) that has been launched is good as it is for the public because everyone will want to stay away from this disease. Whatever steps the government will take will be for our good." MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF DESERTED ROAD AND MUMBAI'S ICONIC MARINE DRIVE AREA VARIOUS OF TOP-VIEW OF TRAINS PARKED IN RAILWAY YARD VARIOUS OF VIEW OF MUMBAI CITY SHIMLA, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF SHIMLA'S EMPTY MALL ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, SHIMLA DISTRICT, AMIT KASHYAP, SAYING: "All the residents of Shimla city and district have all embraced and accepted the curfew. I have seen myself and I have also got reports from several other regions that people have followed the rules of the curfew and no movement can be seen." PANAJI, GOA, INDIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VIEW OF BEACH WAVES CRASHING AT BEACH WAVES THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA (MARCH 22, 2020) (ANI -NO USE INDIA) STONE STRUCTURE ON BEACH/BOATS BOATS IN SEA BOATS AT BEACH WAVES SHUT CARTS AT BEACH DESERTED BEACH
- Embargoed: 5th April 2020 12:02
- Keywords: Curfew Goa India Mumbai Narendra Modi New Delhi Prime Minister coronavirus pandemic virus voluntary curfew
- Location: PANAJI, GOA/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA/NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: PANAJI, GOA/MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA/NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C64TNIF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Roads, markets, beaches, and other public places laid barren and deserted across India as the country launched a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday (March 22) to limit the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic in the country, where 315 people have so far been found to have contracted the disease.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation last week urged citizens to stay indoors from 0130 GMT to 1530 GMT - a move that he said would be a crucial test for a country to assess its abilities to fight the pandemic.
"Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against the COVID-19 menace," Modi tweeted minutes before the curfew commenced. "The steps we take now will help in the times to come," he said in the tweet.
Health experts said India's cases have been growing at a rate seen during the early stages of the outbreak in other countries, which subsequently reported exponential increases in infections.
India's western desert state Rajasthan ordered a shutdown until March 31, while eastern and central states suspended inter-state bus operations to prevent an exodus of daily wage earners from urban centres to villages.
State leaders urged citizens not to rush to villages, avoid crowding trains and buses to prevent the virus spread. Tensions have mounted, however, with angry labourers protesting at some bus stations against sudden closures of basic transport services.
Modi has requested citizens to stand at balconies and near windows on Sunday evening to clap, ring bells to admire the emergency personnel and sanitation workers who are at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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