Coronavirus has infected over 9,000 people across the county (File)
The 21-day lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month has been by and large effective in containing coronavirus, especially in states that have been able to implement it properly. Data from various states show that in most, the transmission of the highly infectious virus - which has infected more than 9,000 people across the country -- has been arrested. While states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been most successful, a few trouble zones remain, a list of which is headed by Maharashtra and Gujarat.
As the countrywide lockdown is about to enter the second phase, data analysed by NDTV's Prannoy Roy and his team shows the government's move has been effective. After a series of ups and downs over the first two weeks, the lockdown appears to have taken effect, with the number of infected people doubling every six days.
Health warning - the outbreak in the country has not been for long and there can be a change in pattern.
Among the states, Kerala has been most successful in leveraging the lockdown to contain the pandemic. Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have also achieved good results.
The rate of infections in the latter part of the lockdown shows that the figures would double in Kerala every 20 days. In the two other states, the corresponding figure is 16 and 15 days.
Overall, Kerala witnessed 376 cases, of whom 179 patients recovered and two died.
The state's success story came about due to the state government's prompt action even before the lockdown was announced, advising people to stay indoors and implement basic hygiene. As the virus reached Kerala, it started rigorous testing and quarantining the infected, putting the patients in touch with doctors from their homes through a special app.
The other two southern states - Karnataka and Telangana - have also shown good results.
Tamil Nadu though, is still behind, with the current rate of infection indicating that the cases will double every seven days. The state currently has 1,057 cases, of whom 11 have died and 51 have recovered.
The biggest areas of worry are Maharashtra, which has been consistently having the maximum number of cases, and neighbouring Gujarat. Both states have a high rate of infection, showing the cases doubling every two days.
The total figure in Maharashtra is 1985 cases, of whom 217 have recovered and 197 have died. Gujarat has 516 cases, of whom 25 died and 44 recovered.
The national capital, Delhi has the second highest number of cases -- overall the number of cases stand at 1194. So far, 27 patients have recovered and 24 died. After a dip in the rate of third week of the lockdown, it again sped up and at the current rate, will double every five days.
Rajasthan, which showed a slowdown after the lockdown started, has suddenly shown an upswing over the last few days. From the cases doubling every six days, it has sped up, now doubling every three days. In Bihar too, there has been an uptick.
The 21-day nationwide lockdown was slated to end on April 15, but seven states have already announced an extension. The list includes Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been asked to extend the lockdown, has indicated that he might take their suggestion. On Saturday, during his meet with the Chief Ministers, he had agreed that a longer lockdown was necessary, but talked about saving livelihoods as well as lives.
He will be addressing the nation at 10 am tomorrow.
Today, the government extended the visa of foreign nationals -- who have been stranded in India – by another two weeks.