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  • Coronavirus.India: the country where doctors do not applaud
  • India: total confinement to more than 1,300 million inhabitants

India on Tuesday extended the confinement of its more than 1.3 billion people until May 3 , after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases exceeded 10,000, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of the financial sacrifices necessary to save lifes.

Drastic downward revisions to post-pandemic economic growth forecasts point to alarming levels of unemployment, but the prime minister urged Indians to maintain the discipline shown in the first three weeks of confinement in the country.

"That means that until May 3, each and every one of us will have to remain confined," Modi said in a televised speech. "From an economic point of view, it certainly seems expensive right now; but compared to the lives of Indian citizens, there is no comparison, " he added.

Neighboring Pakistan, with 205 million inhabitants, also extended two more confinement that ended on Wednesday. Nepal also extended the same measure for its 30 million inhabitants until April 27. With just 16 cases of the virus and no deaths, Nepal is concerned about receiving cases from India.

Modi made these statements when it was made public that the number of people infected with the coronavirus in India had reached 10,363, with 339 deaths .

Although the numbers are small compared to those in the hardest-hit western nations, health experts fear this is due to low levels of testing in India, noting that actual levels of infection could be much higher .

Lacking test and protective equipment for medical workers, India has only conducted 137 tests per million population , compared to 15,935 per million in Italy and 8,138 in the United States.

Health experts have warned that widespread contagion could be disastrous in a country where millions of people live in dense slums and the health care system is overburdened . According to the government, India has one doctor for every 1,500 inhabitants. The World Health Organization recommends one doctor for every 1,000. In rural areas, where two thirds of its population live, the ratio is one doctor for every 10,000 people.

A policeman with a helmet representing the coronavirus, during a march together with other police officers to raise awareness about the coronavirus in Chennai, India.AFP

Most of the confirmed cases in India are concentrated in 80 of the 700 districts in which the country is divided, including the two main cities, New Delhi and Bombay.

"It is my request and my prayer to all fellow citizens: we should not allow the coronavirus to spread to new areas under any circumstances," Modi said. But the closure of a $ 2.9 trillion economy has caused the unemployment rate to double to 14.5% , according to data from the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), a think-tank of Bombay.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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