The Novel Coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly in India. From the 1st of May to the 4th of May, India witnessed a rise of 5,334 cases.
On the 4th of May, India reported a total of 42,670 cases of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 and claimed 1,395 lives in the country.
Maharashtra remains on top with the highest number of the Novel Coronavirus cases with 12,974, followed by Gujarat (5,428,) Delhi (4,549,) Tamil Nadu (3,023) and Rajasthan (3,009.)
Considering these increased numbers, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the nation wide lockdown by 2 more weeks, till the 17th of May. India witnessed the world’s largest lockdown, which started on the 24th of March, extended once on the 14th of April, a second time on the 1st of May and is proposed to end on the 17th of May. While many health experts claimed the lockdown to be the only way to protect ourselves from the Novel Coronavirus infection, many economists raised concerns over the worst economic situation due to the Novel Coronavirus crisis. Locking down the Country of 1.3 billion population is resulting in a huge economic crisis, increased unemployment rates and struggle for daily wages labourers. Though the respective state governments announced financial aid and other relaxations like rice distribution to the underprivileged, the situation for them looks no better.
On the 4th of May, Indian factories and industries also reported a massive low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in April. The Purchasing Managers Index, which identifies current economic trends and business conditions, fell to 27.4 in April to 51.8 in March.
In regard to this worsening economic situation, the Central Government changed a few guidelines for the third lockdown. Construction, manufacturing of agriculture products, irrigation and other business could run with minimum staff, following the guidelines of social distancing. However, the lockdown 3.0 would be easy for people residing in Green Zones and Orange Zones, but people of Red Zone areas have to wait a little longer to enjoy the ease due to the rapid increase of the Novel Coronavirus.
There are a total of 319 Green Zones, 284 Orange Zones and 130 Red Zones across India. The lockdown 3.0 comes in effect from today, the 4th of May, under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
