Coronavirus Updates: India Heads For Complete Lockdown As Covid-19 Cases Mount

Karnataka government has announced shutdown of all commercial activities, barring essential services, in Bengaluru and eight other districts of the state till March 31.

All these nine districts—Bengaluru city, Bengaluru rural, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Chikkaballapura, Kodagu and Belagavi have reported cases of Covid-19.

"After taking stock of the coronavirus situation in the state and in neighbouring states, the chief minister has announced shutdown from tomorrow till March 31," the government said. Other than essential services like medical, grocery and agriculture, all other commercial activities will be under "shutdown".

"In these nine districts in factories where there are large number of workers, half work force should be utilised on alternate day basis, 50 percent of the labour should be used on a day," he said. Inter-district transport services from these nine districts has been cancelled till March 31.

Minutes after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that no domestic or international flights will operate from the Delhi airport from Monday till March 31, a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that domestic flights will operate as usual at the airport.

The Centre had announced three days ago that no international flight will be landing on Indian soil from Sunday for a period of one week.

"Domestic flights to and from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi will continue to operate and the airport will remain functional," the DGCA official said.

At a press conference Sunday evening, Kejriwal told reporters that no domestic or international flight would be allowed to arrive at the Delhi airport from March 23 to March 31. In an order, the Delhi government subsequently reiterated the same.

However, with DGCA stating that domestic flights will continue to operate at the Delhi airport, the confusion was cleared.

Andhra Pradesh government has announced a complete lockdown to fight the novel coronavirus. Inter-state borders have been sealed for transport and people have been asked to step out of their homes only for essential needs.

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said public transport within the state and inter-state would be shut. The government itself will run with skeletal staff, with employees working in rotation basis. He also announced free ration to the poor and Rs 1,000 assistance per family.

"Situation is relatively better in AP, compared to other states," he told reporters in Amaravati, adding that six coronavirus cases had been reported so far in the state. Of the six patients, one has recovered and discharged from hospital, he added.

India’s stock exchanges will remain open despite a lockdown in Mumbai to curb spread of the coronavirus, Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty said in an interview.

There is no plan to curtail trading hours as of now, Chakraborty said.

Earlier, CNBC Awaaz TV channel reported that the government and the Securities and Exchange Board of India were mulling options, including shutting down bourses, as part of a government plan to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A SEBI spokesman said markets will function at normal hours on Monday.

The Supreme Court will start hearing cases via video conferencing from Monday. The lawyers will address the court from a separate room from inside the court premises.