States In India Announce Lockdown, Cases Near 1m

Saudi Arabia sees decrease in new infections; Leicester measures unlikely to be eased, says UK minister; France to make masks compulsory; Philippines plans house-to-house searches for cases.

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India’s COVID-19 infections crossed the 900,000 mark on Tuesday, and the country became the third worse-affected in the global list, behind the United States with 3.3 million and Brazil with 1.8 million. At the rate at which infections are emerging, India could cross the one million mark soon.

In the wake of the increasing coronavirus cases in Bihar, the state government has ordered the closure of all government offices, shops, religious places, barring essential services, across the state. The lockdown will remain in force from July 16 to 31.

The order issued on Tuesday by the Home Department of the Bihar government said the reason for the lockdown is the increase in Covid-19 cases.

India’s IT hub Bangaluru went into a new week-long lockdown on Tuesday as the number of coronavirus cases surges.

A 10-day lockdown also began in the southern city of Pune from Tuesday during which only essential businesses such as milk shops, pharmacies, clinics and emergency services will remain open.

Saudi Arabian officials said on Tuesday the kingdom has seen a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases over the past seven days.