It has been a tough few weeks for Calcutta as the city chief has been hit by an intense lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus which has killed nearly 1000 people in the city.
Authorities in the ancient city of 1 million people introduced a day-long strict reduction in food supply and asked residents to isolate if they had any symptoms of fever depression or fatigue for 14 days.
The system is seen as crucial in curbing the spread of the virus worldwide.
In Calcutta various shops marketplaces and residential compounds have been shut and residents have been told to avoid large gatherings and use public transport.
Calcuttas commerce tourism and health authorities have induced a traffic-jam on streets leading to some areas high-end luxury properties were ordered off the scene and have marked off specific districts to prevent the bacterium developing resistance to drugs.
Rupesh Sahni an executive vice-president of the Greater Calcutta City Council said security would be stepped up.
The lockdown would not be lifted for one hour till 10 pm (…) So the effort on lockdown is one-hour he said on Sunday in an interview with CNN. I dont know whether it will come to an end but it is the calm before the storm.
India is the third most affected country in the world; the spread is expected to be severe with over 46500 cases and five deaths.
The Indian government has expedited the development of remdesivir a drug that is undergoing trials in 13 major pharmaceutical production facilities across the country including Savon Patel Laboratories Ltd a unit of Independent Living.
Indoor markets and regular public spaces in the famed Calcutta has been shut.
The citys Calcutta-based Dalit Thackeray urged residents not to linger in markets without seeking medical advice first in a bid to revive a surging local tourism industry.
You can cause more damage by coming and buying plates utensils and cloths he said. When you enter certain shops the customer refuses to buy anything and then somewhere else on the street theres nothing there. And the prices are already up to 20 to 30 higher compared to the normal.
Authorities have also enforced strict durability measures in the mines shutting the Maunaud Mine and preventing people from coming into contact with any of its herd before coming in said the miner.
The Maunaud achieve daily production of a little over 1000 MT from 1694 MT but the local hospital has just 416 beds with a net attendance of 600.
The ministers handling administration also announced that it will impose a social-distancing curfew through the end of March.
Other areas including some hospitals have been ordered to put in place reducing measures to keep a lid on the spread of COVID-19 which has killed 1156 people in India and infected more than 7000.
Medical experts foresee a far better outcome than India in the coming months.
We though the COVID-19 has a high mortality ratio – possibly more than some other countries – but it will be much better in Calcutta said Dr Vishwa Deep Dixit a senior family physician with the citys renowned Memorial Hospital.