New Delhi/March, 29:The Central government on Sunday ordered the sealing of state and district borders across the country in a bid to stop community transmission of coronavirus by migrant workers, and warned that violators face 14-day quarantine. But thousands continued to march on highways as the nationwide positive cases neared 1,000 with at least 25 dead.
As the 21-day lockdown entered its 5th day, the exodus of migrant workers from big cities continued unabated, desperate to return to their villages after being left jobless and many of them without food or shelter.
Charitable organisations, volunteers, religious institutions and government bodies including Railway Protection Force fed tens of thousands of people across the nation but many more remained outside the safety net.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast, sought the nation’s forgiveness for the hardships caused by the stringent nationwide lockdown, saying it was necessary because the country was fighting a battle between life and death.
The total number of positive cases rose by 106 in the last 24 hours and six deaths reported in this period, according to official figures. The new cases, which included a SpiceJet pilot with no history of international travel, were reported from the national capital’s satellite town Noida, Bihar and Maharashtra, among other states.
