India lockdowns affect more than 750 million people

Millions of people across India have been placed under lockdown until the end of the month as efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country intensify, CNN reports on Monday. 

Residents living in 75 districts across the country, including in major cities such as the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata have been placed under travel, work and movement restrictions until March 31. 

Using data from the latest government census, which took place in 2011, more than 750 million people will be impacted by the new restrictions. Given that the data is from nine years ago, the actual number of people affected is likely to be much higher.

In the New Delhi metropolitan area, more than 16 million people have been asked to stay inside their homes. Public transportation, including the metro and rickshaws, have been suspended, and all shops, factories, places of worship and offices have been shut.

More than 12 million people could be affected in the city of Mumbai and 9 million in Bangalore, according to the census data.


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