Lockdown to now focus on 11 cities with 70% of India's COVID-19 cases; check list here

As the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 1.51 lakh-mark on Wednesday, the central government is mulling over strategies to implement for the road ahead in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in India.

As the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 1.51 lakh-mark on Wednesday, the central government is mulling over strategies to implement for the road ahead in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in India.

According to government sources, the next stage in implementing a smarter lockdown will focus on 11 cities in India, which have 70% of the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

11 cities which have 70% of India's COVID-19 payload are:

1. Delhi
2. Mumbai
3. Bengaluru
4. Pune
5. Thane
6. Indore
7. Chennai
8. Ahmedabad
9. Jaipur
10. Surat
11. Kolkata

According to sources, the next stage of the lockdown will focus on implementing the stringent restrictions and protocols in these 11 cities, to cut the spread of the virus, while gradually opening up economic activities in the rest of the country, to have a smarter approach towards controlling the pandemic outbreak.

Sources added that even among these 11 cities, there are five cities that, together, comprise 60% of the positive cases of COVID-19 in India.

The five cities which comprise 60% of India's COVID-19 cases are:

1. Ahmedabad
2. Delhi
3. Pune
4. Kolkata
5. Mumbai

Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 1.51 lakh-mark on Wednesday, while the death toll has topped the 4,300-mark as well.

Over the major part of the last week, the country has marked significant and consecutive highest jumps in the COVID-19 tally.

It is now increasingly becoming likely that India, although well into the fourth phase of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-necessitated nationwide lockdown, is quickly becoming one of the biggest COVID-19 hotspots in the world.

New guidelines issued by the central government pertaining to Lockdown 4.0 remain enforced. Several restrictions have been lifted, which includes permitting transport services, reopening of shops, and resuming online shopping. According to the central government's most recent order, all activities, except the ones "specifically prohibited", will be allowed in green, orange, red, and buffer zones, which continue to be classified by the States/UTs and district authorities.

However, educational institutions, including schools and colleges, are still closed. Shopping malls and cinema theatres are closed as well.

Domestic flight services resumed in India on Monday, while international flights are to start soon as well, the central government has informed as part of its gradual reboot of air travel services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.