India's financial hub Mumbai faces extended coronavirus lockdown

MUMBAI • The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in South Asia crossed 6,000 yesterday, even as the authorities in some cities tightened restrictions on movement and warned that lockdowns could be extended to rein in the pandemic.

"If people don't obey the rules seriously and cases continue to rise, there may be no option but to extend the lockdown," said Mr Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra state, which includes the financial hub Mumbai. "It could be extended in Mumbai and urban areas of Maharashtra by two weeks."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said the country will pull out of the planned three-week lockdown in a phased manner.

India has been hardest hit by the disease in South Asia, with over 3,000 cases and 86 deaths.

While the government plans to review the lockdown, set to end on April 14, three senior officials said this will depend on an assessment of the situation in each state, and lockdowns and restrictions would be extended in districts where the virus has continued to spread.

Public transport in large metros such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, may be restored in a phased manner only days after the lockdown ends, said the officials, who asked not to be named.

The number of Covid-19 cases has more than doubled in South Asia over the past week.

Muslim-majority Pakistan and Bangladesh, and India, home to the world's largest Muslim minority, have struggled to convince conservative religious groups to maintain social distancing. Pakistan has so far reported over 2,700 coronavirus infections, fuelled by a jump in cases related to members of the Tablighi Jamaat, an orthodox Muslim proselytising group.

REUTERS