India's lockdown exceeds the scope even of China, where an estimated 760million people were locked down in January after the virus ran rampant through Hubei province before spreading across the country. 'If the current disease trajectory is anything to go by, we expect 1 million or 2 million deaths in India over a one-year period.' The lockdown means that roughly a third of the world's population - or 2.6billion people - are now living under some kind of restriction imposed because of coronavirus, half of them in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide 'total lockdown' for 21 days starting Wednesday, ordering one-fifth of the world's population to stay in place. Health officials have reported 512 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and at least nine deaths.

Source: Daily Mail March 25, 2020 08:32 UTC