Coronavirus India Update: Walmart-Backed E-Commerce Giant Flipkart Temporarily Suspends All Services In Country

Hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown in the nation to curb the spread of coronavirus, Walmart-backed E-commerce giant Flipkart announced that it has temporarily suspended all its services in the country.

A message displayed on the company’s website said, ''We are temporarily suspending our services. Your needs have always been our priority, and our promise is that we will be back to serve you, as soon as possible.”

“These are difficult times, times like no other, said the statement and added, never before, communities stayed apart to stay safe. Never before, has being at home meant helping the nation, the statement further said. We urge you to stay home to stay safe! We will get there. And we will get through. Together,” the message read.

This decision comes despite the government listing e-commerce services as “essential.”

Amazon India too announced Tuesday that it has temporarily halted orders for non-essential products. The company announced it will now focus on delivering essential household items.

“To serve our customers' most urgent needs while also ensuring the safety of our associates, we are prioritizing (with immediate effect) all our resources to serve products that are currently high priority. Stay safe!” Amazon India’s country head Amit Agarwal tweeted Tuesday.