[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] There are growing calls both inside and outside India for a nationwide lockdown as COVID-19 deaths spread uncontrollably across the country.
According to major foreign media on the 12th (local time), Balram Bhargava, chairman of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), argued that to curb the massive COVID-19 outbreak, the major infected areas need to be locked down for about two more months. The ICMR is India's most prestigious medical research institution, financially supported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Chairman Bhargava stated that lockdowns should be maintained for about 6 to 8 more weeks in districts where the positive test rate exceeds 10% relative to the number of tests conducted.
India's overall positive test rate had exceeded 25% but recently dropped to the 17% range. However, three-quarters of the 718 districts nationwide still have a positive rate above 10%. Major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru also have positive rates well above 10%.
Bhargava said, "Lockdowns can be lifted when the positive rate reaches 5-10%," adding, "If New Delhi were to open tomorrow under the current circumstances, it would be a disaster."
Currently, major state governments across the country, including New Delhi, Maharashtra (where Mumbai is located), Karnataka (led by Bengaluru), Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Bihar, have independently implemented lockdown orders or equivalent quarantine measures.
However, some opposition parties and experts argue that a nationwide lockdown is necessary to effectively stop the spread. The federal government has yet to decide on imposing a nationwide lockdown. Local media analyze that the federal government is concerned that a nationwide lockdown, like last year, could cause severe damage to the economy.
Bhargava said that at the national task force (TF) meeting on the 15th of last month, he proposed lockdowns for areas with a positive rate above 10%, but it was not properly implemented.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) urged on the 8th for a "comprehensive, sufficiently planned, and pre-announced nationwide lockdown" lasting 20 days.
Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and an authority on infectious diseases, also argued on the 9th that India should impose a lockdown. Fauci said, "I understand that some Indian states have already imposed lockdowns," but stressed, "To break the chain of transmission, a (nationwide) lockdown is necessary."
According to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as of the morning of the 13th, the daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases in India (the sum of each state's counts over approximately 24 hours from the previous day) were 362,727. After peaking at 414,188 new cases on the 7th, the number of new cases has recently hovered around 350,000. The number of new deaths on this day was 4,120, exceeding 4,000 for two consecutive days. As of this day, the cumulative confirmed cases and cumulative deaths were 23,703,665 and 258,317, respectively.
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