In January, the world was informed by WHO of a novel coronavirus which had begun to spread rapidly in Wuhan, China. The novel coronavirus was previously unheard of and very little was known about it. People were not allowed to move out of their homes and soon photos and videos of China’s mass quarantining facilities began to emerge. For those of us outside China, the measures taken by China seemed over-the-top and draconian. Fearing the outbreak would spread more, many countries announced travel bans of passengers from China; others warned their citizens from travelling to China.

Fast forward to March 18 and India had over 151 cases. On March 19th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a  Janta Curfew would be held on March 22nd. This was a precursor for another announcement made by the PM Modi the next day that the entire country would be put under lockdown starting March 24th. It was the same day that India reported over 100 cases in one day.  The PM’s announcement regarding the lockdown came abruptly, giving 1.3 billion people just 4 hours to gear up and stock up for what is to be the longest lockdown ever seen in independent India. Interestingly, this decision was taken 10 days after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had publicly stated that COVID-19 was not a health emergency.

So what was the scientific basis for the nationwide lockdown that began in India on March 24th and subsequently extended on April 12th till May 3? Was the government assured by its own scientists that the lockdown would help curtail the spread of COVID 19?

A new investigation reported by Nitin Sethi and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava of The Reporters’ Collective in association with Article14 reveals the government was informed in the first week of April that the countrywide 21-day lockdown ordered by Prime Minister Modi would have a very limited and temporary effect to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the investigative series in English on their website www.article-14.com. In this special episode of The Suno India Show, we bring to you an exclusive interview with Nitin Sethi and Kumar Sambhav on what their investigation revealed.