All of India was eerily quiet for a whole Sunday as the country observed the Janata Curfew to stop coronavirus. But the question is: What happens next?

On Sunday, March 22, India observed the Janata Curfew from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday requested by the Prime Minister, which was essentially an exercise in preparation for a long period of coronavirus lockdown. So the question we are all now asking is: What happens next?


After the long curfew in which millions of Indians stayed home, many parts of the country will begin to lockdown starting Monday after COVID-19 cases continue to surge: 315 to 396 cases in a day last Saturday, the biggest spike so far. States like Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand will lockdown until the end of the month, March 31.

In West Bengal's case, the state will shut down until March whereas Uttar Pradesh will close 16 districts until March 25. Bihar and Chhattisgarh will shut down all urban areas until the end of the month. Nationwide, interstate buses and trains, and suburban and metro rails will cease operations until March 31 as well. The state borders already got sealed off.

How does the coronavirus lockdown work in India?

Initially, the number of districts to be shut down was 75 after a videoconference early Sunday, but by the evening, the number increased after states declared their own lockdowns. Not all of the states practice complete shutdowns like Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, and Kerala. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal even wanted no domestic flight arrivals in the capital but was overruled by Center.

Critical services, namely hospitals, telecoms, pharmacies, provision stores that manufacture and distribute essential resources and commodities are exempt from these requirements.

PM Narendra Modi has asked that Indian people have to be "prepared for a long battle" and highlighted that no one should leave their home in locations that already declared a lockdown, and only for necessary purposes in other non-lockdown districts.

How long or short the curfew and lockdown will last depend on how well we observe the instructions

The purpose of this week's shutdown will be to help slow the coronavirus disease's spread, as in flattening the curve. Preventing as much community transmission as possible in a country as populated and dense as India is extremely important to make sure a tragedy like Wuhan or Italy doesn't repeat in the country!

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