Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal have announced a “lockdown” of the capital from 6am on Monday till March 31 midnight as part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures…,” Kejriwal, who addressed a joint media conference with Baijal, said.

“Once there are 1,000 to 1,500 cases in Delhi, a lockdown will not be effective and will restrict the access of people to health infrastructure. Even if we can save 10 to 20 lives, it is worth it.”

All public transport vehicles will go off the roads, including private buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws, rickshaws and e-rickshaws, and the Delhi Transport Corporation will run only a quarter of its fleet for essential service personnel.

Delhi’s boundaries are being sealed and buses, trains, Metro rail services and flights will be suspended, Kejriwal said.

Civil aviation regulator DGCA, however, clarified that domestic flights would be allowed to operate.

Kejriwal announced a list of essential services that would be exempt from the purview of the lockdown, such as shops selling medicines and food items, including restaurants for takeaway orders.

Bank cashier and teller services; ATMs; telecom, Internet and postal service offices, and e-commerce operations related to essential goods will be exempt too.

But all other commercial establishments will remain shut and there will be no construction work either. Places of worship would remain closed too.

Kejriwal said: “Anyone found on the road will be asked if he is performing an essential service or buying food. Their explanation will be accepted.… The staff of private establishments which close will be considered on duty, that is they have to be paid their wages in full whether they are permanent staff or on temporary contract.”

A source in the ruling AAP said the lockdown was discussed at the highest levels of the Delhi and central governments.

“MP Sanjay Singh had also discussed closing the boundaries with (Union) urban affairs minister Hardeep Puri last week. People from Uttar Pradesh will rush to Delhi for treatment as they don’t trust their public health. They can’t be denied treatment, but sealing the border can regulate this, and prevent them from transmitting the disease in Delhi. We’re looking at deploying South Korea-like testing vans,” he added.

The police imposed prohibitory orders from 9pm on Sunday to prevent gatherings of people.

Kerala

The Kerala chief minister’s office on Sunday said no decision had been taken yet to lock down some districts, issuing the clarification after the Centre named seven districts from the state among 75 across the country that it said were being locked down.

Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram are the districts named by the Centre.

Kasaragod was already under lockdown since Saturday after a spike in coronavirus cases in the district.