Coronavirus: India reopens temples and malls despite rising infections

Malls and temples reopened in several cities across India on Monday as the government further eased a 10-week lockdown despite the country posting a record daily number of new coronavirus infections.

Although the pandemic is expected to ravage the country of 1.3 billion for weeks, the government has risked lifting some restrictions in a bid to ease the devastating blow to the economy from the lockdown.

The number of new Covid-19 cases rose by 9,983 to 256,611 on Monday, according to government figures, placing India fifth among nations with the highest number of infections behind the United States, Russia, Brazil and Britain.

The reported death toll of 7,135 is much lower than reported in other badly-hit countries, but the epidemic is only expected to peak locally in July, according to health experts.

Underlining the health threat, the head of government in the Delhi capital region, Arvind Kejriwal, placed himself in isolation after developing fever and a cough, two symptoms of Covid-19. He was to be tested for the disease, with the result expected on Tuesday.

Despite the capital being one of the nation's infection hotspots, Delhi shopping malls, restaurants, temples and mosques were allowed to reopen for the first time since March 25.

The response was tentative, however, and only a trickle of people returned to some places of worship.

Businessman Mohit Budhiraja, wearing a mask and carrying sanitiser, went to his local temple in eastern Delhi for the first time since the lockdown.

"It felt like something was missing when I couldn't come to the temple for all these weeks," he said.

"I hope things improve, but now I will come every day."

Many temples set up sanitisation tunnels at their entrances and barred worshippers from bringing offerings.

"People are having their temperature tested twice before they get in," said Ravindra Goel, a trustee of the Jhandewalan temple, one of the oldest in Delhi.

The 400-year-old Jama Masjid mosque, one of the biggest in India, planned to welcome the faithful three times a day instead of the usual five.

Delhi is one of India's worst coronavirus hot spots, accounting for more than 27,600 cases and 761 deaths – although media reports say the real figures are much higher.

Mumbai, India's financial capital which accounts for about a fifth of the country's cases and where hospitals have been overrun, was more cautious. Roadside shops were allowed to reopen, but malls, restaurants and hair salons remained shut.

A few offices opened in Mumbai and there were long queues at bus stops as the local train services that carry most of the city's commuters have not yet opened.

India's government says the tough lockdown it ordered on March 25 has limited the spread of the coronavirus. But it is now braced for a major hit to the economy, with millions of labourers left jobless.

Rating agencies have said the economy could contract by more than 5 per cent this year, after average growth of about 7 per cent over the past decade.

Despite restrictions being eased last month, the manufacturing sector is struggling to restart because of an exodus of migrant workers prompted by the virus lockdown.

Big cities, once an attractive destination for workers from poor rural regions, have been hit by reverse migration as millions of labourers fled to their village homes.

"A lot of the manufacturing industry is actually located in the very states where the pandemic's impact has been great," Professor Santosh Mehrotra at Jawaharlal Nehru University told AFP last week.

"Now these are the areas where naturally workers have left in large numbers. They will not return in a hurry."