Last Tuesday the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a quarantine for the next 21 days, with the imposition of curfews in some areas. People were told they will have to sat at home with only essential services remaining open. The country has implemented some additional measures such as cut international air connections and domestic flights were stopped.

As we write this article, India has recorded 643 cases of the new coronavirus and 13 people have died.

In the second largest country in terms of total population (1.38 billion people) epidemiologists warn that more than one million Indians could be infected with the new coronavirus by mid-May. With India’s health officials believing the virus is spreading outside the large cities, where it initially appeared, the concern lies in the fact that many areas in India have little infrastructure to deal with the epidemic.

With total production of 2.6 billion pairs of shoes in 2018, India is the second largest footwear manufacturer in the world. In spite of its industry being predominantly focused on a domestic market of 1.3 billion people, India is also among the top 10 exporters of footwear worldwide (Source: World Footwear Yearbook)

Bangladesh also imposed a nationwide lockdown Tuesday with the aim to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, as the country totals 39 cases of people infected.

Authorities imposed a ban on passenger's travel via water, rail and on domestic air routes from the 24^th of March onwards; and public transport on roads will be suspended from today. “Trucks, covered vans and vehicles carrying medicine, fuel and perishable items will remain out of the purview of the lockdown”, confirmed the Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader. The government also decided to suspend all domestic commercial flights from midnight Tuesday.

Educational institutions in the country, which were already closed until at least the end of the month, will continue with the doors shut until the 9^th of April. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s main exporting sector, the ready-made garment is already feeling the impact of the disease diffusion, with the cancelation of orders.

There are reports that China has decided to help Bangladesh by sending Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and test kits amid a shortage in the country.

The Bangladeshi footwear industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and in 2018 the country was the 6th largest producer (461 million pairs). Its exports have increased by more than 500% over the last decade (Source: World Footwear Yearbook). The industry has benefited from a number of political support initiatives and has been able to attract substantial foreign direct investment, including from Vietnam.