Arunachal Pradesh Under Lockdown Till March 31 Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Essential Services Exempted: CM Pema Khandu

Itanagar, March 23: Arunachal Pradesh on Monday joined other Indian states in imposing a lockdown to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced that the restrictions would be put into effect from 5 pm today til midnight of March 23. Essential services, including grocery shops, milk supplies and emergency aid, would remain available during the lockdown period, he said. Catch all live updates related to coronavirus outbreak in India and other parts of the world.

The action was taken by the Arunachal Pradesh government after invoking the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. The Northeast states, which were so far considered to be immune to the COVID-19 outbreak, went into a state of alarm after a child tested positive in Guwahati, the capital of Assam, on Saturday.

"Arunachal Pradesh state government invokes Epidemic Act and announces ‘complete safety restrictions’ of state from 5pm, March 23 till midnight of March 31. All essential services shall be exempted," CM Khandu said on Monday.

Update by PTI

The number of coronavirus cases in India surged to 415 on Monday, by the time this report was published. The death toll climbed to eight, with a 57-year-old person succumbing to death in Kolkata. Among states, Maharashtra remains the worst affected with 67 positive cases confirmed so far. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a statewide curfew on Monday, till March 31, to prevent the spread of virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2020 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).