New Delhi: Barely two weeks after official estimates showed that Indian economy has found its way out of its first ever technical recession by growing at a moderate 0.4 per cent during the October-December quarter, storm clouds are gathering over the economy again with the second wave of Covid-19 infections on the horizon.
Similar to the infamous Spanish flu which operated in waves in the early 20th century, average daily new cases of Covid-19 have reached the 25,000 mark in the last few days forcing various state governments to impose shutdowns, lockdowns or night curfew to contain the spread of infections.
Impact on businesses
In Maharashtra, which is in the beginning of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic as per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the government has put in place restrictions in different parts of the state depending on the severity.
In Nagpur, which is a major industrial hub and the third largest city in the State after Mumbai and Pune, a complete lockdown was imposed for seven days.
According to the orders issued by the Nagpur district administration, only essential services such as vegetable and fruit shops and milk booths will stay open during the lockdown period.
In Latur, which is around 500 km south east of Mumbai, the administration has imposed night curfew between 8 pm and 5 am to contain infections.
In Aurangabad district, which is 350 km away from Mumbai, the hotel industry is severely hit as dining services have been stopped and eateries were restricted to take orders for takeaway parcels.
Sources suggest that restrictions will also be placed in Mumbai as the maximum city witnessed over 1,900 fresh on Tuesday.
In fact, the Government of Maharashtra has directed that except health and essential services, cinema halls, hotels, restaurants and offices should function with not more than 50 percent capacity across the State till March 31.
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In Gujarat, the government has extended night curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot from 10 pm to 6 am till March 31.
Within Surat, as cases were largely seen in textile and diamond industries, the administration has made the Covid-19 test mandatory for the employees.
"Considering the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the city, people associated with textile and diamond industries will be required to get themselves tested once a week, and daily checking with pulse oximeter (to measure oxygen saturation level) will be mandatory," the officials said.
Sensing danger, the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh has started taking precautionary measures by imposing night curfew in Bhopal and Indore starting from March 17 until further orders
The state government has directed that markets must be closed by 10 pm in eight cities - Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Ratlam, Burhanpur, Chhindwara, Betul, Khargone - in view of rising infections.
Meanwhile, some states have started imposing restrictions on inter-state travel.
For instance, Tamil Nadu made e-pass mandatory for all international and domestic passengers arriving to the state except those from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
Besides, some states are continuing with the containment strategy of isolating high risk areas. For instance, in Bengaluru, 31 areas were marked as containment zones and 220 buildings were sealed for effective contract tracing.
Growing cases will undermine the recovery process
While the Centre has not made it clear so far whether there would be a nationwide lockdown or not, restrictions on the movement of goods and people in industrial regions like Maharashtra and Gujarat will affect the interconnected supply chains across the country.
