Italy Tightens Controls, India Locks-Down, Trump Keeps North Korea Dialogue Open

Foreign Policy Morning Brief  (abridged):

New Delhi on lockdown. New Delhi’s 21 million residents will be placed under lockdown until March 31 as India seeks to confront the coronavirus. On Sunday, Indians observed a “janata” curfew, or people’s curfew, as Indians were encouraged to stay at home until 9 p.m. Although the country has only registered 341 cases of coronavirus so far, experts say that low number could be due to lack of testing.

White House confirms Kim Jong Un letter. As a signal of “the special and very firm personal relations” between their leader and U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korea said it had received a letter from the White House seeking cooperation on the coronavirus epidemic. The White House confirmed sending the letter and said it was “consistent with his efforts to engage global leaders during the ongoing pandemic.” North Korea has not halted missile testing during the outbreak, and conducted another round of test launches last Saturday. 

Italy closes more businesses. Italy is set to close all nonessential businesses until April 3 as a further measure to combat its coronavirus epidemic. In a live address, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said “only production activities deemed vital for national production will be allowed,” although grocery stores, banks, post offices and pharmacies will remain open. Italy’s coronavirus death toll now stands at 5,476 after 651 people died on Sunday.