India stays home in 'people's curfew' to stem coronavirus скачать в хорошем качестве

India stays home in 'people's curfew' to stem coronavirus

(22 Mar 2020) The typically boisterous streets of India's capital fell silent on Sunday as the country observed a 14-hour "people's curfew" that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for in a national address to stem the rising coronavirus caseload. Nearly empty streets with hardly a vehicle driving past gave the city a deserted look. With metro services closed and skeleton public service transport many were forced to walk long distances carrying their personal belongings. In a speech last week, Modi asked Indians to stay at home but go out on their balconies at 5 p.m. with pots and pans to cheer for front-line health care workers. Most businesses were expected to be closed on Sunday except for essential services like hospitals. While some Indian states had already issued stay-in-place orders, Sunday marked the first nationwide effort at social isolation practices the World Health Organization believes are critical to flattening the infection curve worldwide. No commercial airplanes from abroad are allowed to land in India for a week starting Sunday, and four states sealed their borders to public and tourist buses. India's Ministry of Health has reported 296 active cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and four deaths, all linked to overseas travel. Officials said 23 people have recovered from the illness, and have not documented community spread. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. Worldwide, the new virus has infected more than 307,100 people and killed more than 13,000. More than 92,300 people have recovered so far, mostly in China. India's government has made fervent appeals to the public to practice social distancing and good hand hygiene. India also was one of the first countries to essentially shut its borders and deny entry to all but a select few foreigners. However, experts have said community transmission of the disease in a country of 1.3 billion people, where tens of millions live in dense urban areas with irregular access to clean water, is inevitable. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...