The world's largest democracy went under the world's biggest lockdown on Wednesday, with India's 1.3 billion people ordered to stay home in a bid to stop the Coronavirus pandemic from spreading and overwhelming its fragile health care system as it has done elsewhere.
The unprecedented move came as infections surged in Europe, New York scrambled to set up thousands of new hospital beds, and organizers delayed this summer's Tokyo Olympics until next year. Financial markets continued their wild swings, with Wall Street posting its best day since 1933 as U.S. Congress and the White House neared a nearly $2 trillion aid deal.
In India, everything but essential services like supermarkets was shut.
India has about 450 cases of the virus, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that if he didn't take action now it could set the country back decades.
More than 422,000 people worldwide have been infected and nearly 19,000 have died, according to a running count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
NEW DELHI (AP)
