NEW DELHI: The world's largest democracy went under the world's biggest lockdown on Wednesday, as India's 1.3 billion people stayed home in a bid to stop the march of the coronavirus pandemic. As infections and deaths rose in the United States (US) and Europe, US lawmakers agreed on a massive $2 trillion domestic aid package to help those devastated by the outbreak.
India's unprecedented move aimed to keep the virus from overwhelming its fragile health care system, as it has done in parts of Europe and threatens to do in US hotspots like New York. Everything but essential services like supermarkets were shuttered. Normally bustling railway stations in New Delhi were deserted and streets that just hours before were jammed with honking cars were eerily silent.
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