In an effort to slow down an explosive surge in Coronavirus cases, India is under a week-long lockdown which began Monday. Hospitals are reaching capacity as the virus is now spreading at a rate faster than at any other time, according to India government authorities.
The Indian government is still designating shipping as an essential service, so import and export operations will continue. According to Manish Verma, managing director of Worldwide Logistics Group in South Asia and the Middle East, there may be a slowdown in business. “Factories are open with labors working under multiple shifts following all precautions and guidelines from the government.”
The Worldwide Logistics Group offices will have a skeletal staff and will be working from home in an effort to comply with the lockdown order.
In the last week, the daily Covid cases have increased to more than 200,000 cases per day. The country reported over 270,000 infections on Monday, its highest daily rise since the pandemic started. Night curfews as well as the lockdown are affecting most major cities including Mumbai and New Delhi.
As the country battles the rising cases, India announced Monday that everyone older than 18 will be eligible for vaccinations by May 1st. The country began vaccinations in mid-January starting with healthcare workers then extending inoculations to those 45 and older. According to the Associated Press, India has so far administered 120 million doses to its near 1.4 billion population.
Most affected states and prominent cities are as follows:
Maharashtra – Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Akola
Gujarat – Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Anand, Rajkot
Rajasthan – Jaipur, Bikaner, Ganganagar
New Delhi – New Delhi
Uttar Pradesh – Noida, Ghaziabad, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur
Punjab – Ludhiana
Madhya Pradesh – Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior
Chhattisgarh – Raipur
West Bengal – Kolkata
Tamil Nadu – Chennai
As always, we will continue to monitor the affects of the pandemic on the global supply chain. For more information, please contact your Worldwide Logistics group representative.