Though the lockdown in India is supposed to end on May 3, experts suggest the country might lose its momentum in the fight against coronavirus if restrictions are not extended further.

Though the lockdown in India is supposed to end on May 3, experts suggest the country might lose its momentum in the fight against coronavirus if restrictions are not extended further.

In an exclusive interview to India Today, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of leading health journal “The Lancet”, warned that the minimum lockdown in India has to be 10 weeks, else all the good work achieved during this period will be lost and we would be in a situation far worse.

“The epidemic in each country won’t go on forever, it will burn itself out. Countries are doing the right thing to control the outbreak. If the lockdown is successful in India, you could see a decline in the epidemic around the end of a 10-week time course,” Horton said on Wednesday.

India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) scanned countries that have either lifted the lockdown or are planning to do so within the next 2-3 weeks and analysed how they have fared so far.

8-week lockdown in worst-hit countries

The United States, despite having the highest number of Covid-19 cases, has not announced a nationwide lockdown yet. Governors of several states have ordered people to stay at home and closed all public places but not without retaliation.

It was reported that in some states, people took to the streets demanding an end to the lockdown. President Donald Trump is also keen to reopen America, notwithstanding the fact that the country reported 8.5 lakh cases as of Thursday morning.

Spain, the second most affected country with over 2 lakh cases, has been under lockdown since March 14. On Wednesday, the Spanish government extended the lockdown till May 9. Thus the lockdown in Spain will last for at least 57 days.

Spain had locked down Haro, a small town in the northern part of the country, on March 7. Thus, lockdown in this town will last for at least 64 days. As of April 22, Spain reported more than 2.08 lakh cases, almost 86,000 recoveries and close to 22,000 deaths. Of the remaining 1 lakh cases, 92 per cent are in mild condition.

Similarly, Italy had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 9, which is expected to last 57 days till May 3. Italy has more than 1.87 lakh cases, over 54,500 recoveries and 25,000 deaths. According to “worldometers”, of the 1.07 lakh active cases in the country, 98 per cent are in mild condition.

France announced strict restrictions in the first week of March and a nationwide lockdown on March 17. The lockdown in France will last 56 days till May 11. France has 1.6 lakh coronavirus cases, 40,657 recoveries and 21,340 deaths. Of its 97,000+ active cases, 95 per cent are in mild and 5 per cent in critical condition.

Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, was locked from January 23 to April 8, when China was able to contain the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University data, as of April 8, the day China opened Wuhan, the recovery rate in the country was 93 per cent.