Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a Cabinet meeting to discuss strategies of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic as people ushered in a 21-day countrywide lockdown that came into effect from midnight on Tuesday.

With social distancing – a term used to refer to a conscious effort to reduce close contact between people to prevent the spread of the virus – becoming the norm, senior ministers were seen seated at a distance from one another during the meeting.

Meanwhile, establishments selling essential commodities, such as groceries and milk, in the country adopted innovative ways of practicing social distancing on the first day of the lockdown. Shopkeepers demarcated boundaries by drawing squares and circles in white paint for people to wait. Each circle was spaced at a distance from the other and individuals were seen standing inside their mark.

India’s health ministry has confirmed 562 cases of the virus. Of these, 512 cases are active. Nine people have died due to the virus, according to the ministry’s latest update. However, the death of one more person in Tamil Nadu has not been confirmed yet, which will take the toll to 10.

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Here are some photos that show how people practicing social distancing:

People stand inside circles drawn to maintain social distance outside a store in Haryana. Credit: Money Sharma/AFP
People stand on designated areas to maintain social distancing as they queue outside a grocery store during the first day of a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in Faridabad, Haryana on Wednesday. Credit: Money Sharma/AFP
People stand at a distance from one another near a tractor trolley to buy vegetables during the lockdown in Bathinda, Punjab, on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
Residents maintain social distance as they stand outside a grocery store in Ahmedabad to shop for essential items during the lockdown on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
People stand in a queue near a bus stand in Jammu during the lockdown amid rising coronavirus cases in the country on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
Customers stand one-metre apart as a preventive measure against the coronavirus while queuing up to buy vegetables during lockdown in Karad, Maharashtra, on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
People stand away from each other as they queue up outside a supermarket to buy essential items in Faridabad on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
People stand in a queue outside a chemist's shop while maintaining social distance in New Delhi on Wednesday. Credit: PTI
People seen maintaining distance between each other as they wait for their turn outside a chemist's store in the national Capital. Credit: PTI
Policemen punish those who violated lockdown guidelines, make them sit in marked circles to maintain social distancing at Vikram Chowk in Jammu on Wednesday. Credit: PTI

People maintaining distance between each other in Puducherry.

Visuals from a store in Gujarat

People in Lucknow practice social distancing as they queue up outside stores: