Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who last year imposed a strict closure at short notice, called on states to avoid closing companies as the South Asian nation faces a new wave of Covid-19 infections threatening a birth of economic recovery.
The South Asian nation is now the second most affected country in the world, remaining only in the United States, having reported more than 200,000 new infections daily every day over the past week and a record number of daily deaths of 2,023 on Wednesday.
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“I demand states consider the blockades as the last resort,” Modi said in a televised speech Tuesday afternoon. “They should seriously try to avoid blocking and focus on microcontainment areas.”
As infections increase, the country’s health care system has been brought to a breaking point, as hospitals report shortages of everything from intensive care beds to medical oxygen. The rise in new cases has forced India’s financial and political capitals to impose restrictions on movement, and New Delhi has forced it to close strictly six days from Tuesday.
In images reminiscent of India’s first strict closure in late March last year, where hundreds of thousands of workers fled cities, thousands of people gathered at Delhi bus terminals in early March. ‘this week trying to get home after his income. it dried up suddenly with the new lock.
Meanwhile, at least six of India’s 30 chief ministers, two federal ministers and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, have tested positive for the virus in recent days.
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The nation’s benchmark stock index fell to its lowest level since late Tuesday in January and the rupee is the worst-performing currency in Asia this month as India became the epicenter world of the new outbreak.
In February, the central bank said it expects the the economy will expand by 10.5% in the year that began on April 1 after an estimated 7.7% contraction in the previous twelve months.
Relatives of a deadly Covid-19 victim wearing PPE consoled themselves while attending a funeral in New Delhi on 19 April.
Photographer: T. Narayan / Bloomberg
Renewed blockades will cost the country 1% of gross value added in the quarter from April to June and more if replicated by other states, according to estimates by HSBC Holdings Plc. Meanwhile, public finances will be affected by rising demand for social security programs, weaker tax revenues and uncertainty over asset sales, HSBC economist Pranjul Bhandari wrote in a note published on Tuesday.
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Modi also said his government is working with states and businesses to increase the supply of medical oxygen and the crucial drugs needed to fight the pandemic.
– With the assistance of Bibhudatta Pradhan and Upmanyu Trivedi
(Updates to the new daily death register in the second paragraph)