To control the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), India and Australia are the latest countries to introduce lockdown measures.
Following a 14-hour nationwide curfew yesterday, India imposes lockdown measures in its states with immediate effect. All railways, metro services and interstate buses are suspended until 31st of this month.
India imposed these more stringent measures amid soaring cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks. The virus has infected more than 400 people and killed seven in India.
According to the BBC, Australia is also shutting down non-essential services such as pubs, clubs, gyms, cinemas and places of worship starting today. But some states in the country have hinted school closures if the situation worsens in coming days. Australia saw a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent days. Its total confirmed cases have now crossed 1,300.
In the US, the New York state has become the epicentre of the outbreak and accounts for almost half of the country’s cases. It has implemented stay-at-home orders to curb the virus. There are now over 31,000 confirmed cases nationwide, with 390 deaths.
Thailand now has almost 600 total confirmed cases of Covid-19. Bangkok has been under partial lockdown since Sunday. The government ordered all airport managers to strictly monitor the screenings of passengers and their travel history. And passengers transiting through Thailand are required to produce a medical certificate and health insurance with coverage of at least US$ 100,000 per person.
The rest of the countries around the world are imposing tough measures to contain the pandemic. According to Worldometer, globally, the virus has infected more than 300,000 people. Nearly 13,000 have died while some 99,000 have recovered.
Choni Dema
