COVID watch: It is a full lockdown

The Hindu Newsletter - COVID watch: It is a full lockdown Monday 23, March 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Welcome to The Evening Wrap, your guide to the day’s major news developments with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe, and staying at home as far as possible. Here are the other major stories you need to know about: COVID watch: It’s a full lockdown We last brought you the Evening Wrap newsletter on Friday, March 20. India had just registered the biggest single day increase in coronavirus cases, with the number touching 223. Well, the numbers took a leap over a tumultuous weekend, nearly doubling to 430 as of today. So where do we start? As you’ll know by now, following the Janata Curfew yesterday, 80 districts announced a lockdown. All workplaces and commercial establishments, save for some essential services, have been closed with the aim of halting the spread of the virus. Today, 19 states and union territories announced a lockdown, bringing virtually the entire country, and much of the economy, grinding to a halt. Just for context, we wrote last Friday that Maharashtra, which has recorded the highest number of positive cases, was the first state to impose a lockdown of this magnitude. Today the Maharashtra government decided that the lockdown wasn’t working, and has gone in for a state-wide curfew. “These are not times for entertainment,” said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackery, as he announced the curfew. “This has been done because despite telling softly, some people aren’t listening,” Thackeray said. I Could this be an indication of what’s in store for the rest of the country? We’ll find out soon enough. By the way, what exactly constitutes a lockdown, as opposed to a curfew? Well, we can expect different states to adopt different measures. Tamil Nadu’s lockdown offers a [useful framework]( to understand what will be allowed and what won’t be. In a related development, all train, metro, and inter-state transport services across the country have been [suspended]( till March 31. All domestic flights will also stop flying tomorrow midnight. Corona Prophylactic The National Task Force for COVID-19, constituted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has recommended the use of hydroxy-chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 cases that are high-risk. Also known as HCQ, hydroxy-chloroquine is generally used to treat malaria. “Hydroxychloroquine is only for a healthcare worker who is treating a #COVID patient,” said ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava in a tweet. He added that it’s recommended only for those caring for corona-positive patients at home. “They can take it for prophylaxis, as a preventive measure,” he said. Follow all the latest developments with our [live pageÂ](and with our daily COVID update podcast, now part of The Hindu’s [In Focus podcast series](. Lok Sabha adjourned The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Monday [after the passage of the Finance Bill, 2020. With political parties such as the NCP and TMC advising their MPs to stay away on account of the coronavirus pandemic,Â](there was no debate. This adjournment is nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, as the House was originally scheduled to adjourn only on April 3. The decision was taken after a meeting was held by Speaker Om Birla with floor leaders of various parties. Chouhan returns Still time for some politics, even in the midst of a pandemic. The BJP will hold a meeting of its legislature party in Madhya Pradesh with Shivraj Singh Chouhan tipped to return as Chief Minister and take oath at 9 pm today. Congress leader [Kamal Nath had resignedÂ]( as Chief Minister on March 20. Senior party sources told The Hindu that the delay in Chouhan taking over was due to the Janata Curfew on March 22. Markets tank, again Here’s a line we have written three times now over the past couple of weeks. The Sensex and Nifty posted their worst one-day crash as India went into lockdown today. The Sensex plummeted 3,934.72 points or 13.15%, while the Nifty fell 1,135.20 points or 12.98%. The rupee also fell by 102 paise to settle at a lifetime low of 76.22 against the US dollar. Olympics under pressure Canada and Australia have said they would not be sending athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if the Games went ahead as scheduled this year. Pressure is now growing on the organisers to postpone the event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government have shifted from their earlier position that the Games would start as planned on July 24. They have now announced a month-long consultation on other “scenarios”. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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