India is launching the world's largest blockade that will last 21 days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
The Indian prime minister also warned citizens that they must remain in isolation or risk calling the pandemic to their homes.
To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on leaving home, Modi said in a televised address. He acknowledged that the three-week blockade would be a major blow to the country's economy, but he believes the alternative could bring the country back decades, Reuters reports.
Modi has pledged $ 2 billion to strengthen the health system. He called today's order "total shutdown" and did not announce whether some service workers would be exempt from the ban. But he noted that "all steps have been taken by the central and state governments to secure basic supplies".
In India, there are 469 positive cases of Kovid-19 and 10 deaths so far.
