Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday told Chief Ministers of all states that the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 will most likely be extended for two more weeks. The PM told the Chief Ministers of all states through video conferencing on Saturday that even if the lockdown continues, there would be many relaxations including running industries and allowing inter-district travel in places that have seen no spread of the disease.
Though the Prime Minister has not made any official statement on what the decision is, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the PM was right in taking the decision.
“The PM has taken the correct decision to extend the lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it,” Kejriwal tweeted.
PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is imp to extend it
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 11, 2020
The meeting between PM Modi and state Chief Ministers comes after Modi hinted on Wednesday that the lockdown, currently in place till April 14, may be extended. “The country has been forced to take tough decisions and must continue to remain vigilant. Several state governments, district administrations and experts have asked for an extension of the phase of lockdown,” the Prime Minister had said during a meeting with floor leaders of the opposition and other parties in Parliament.
The Prime Minister had made it clear during the meeting that a final decision would be taken after consulting with chief ministers of all states. However, states like Odisha and Punjab have already issued notifications extending the lockdown in those states till April end.
Expert committees constituted by the Kerala and Karnataka governments had suggested that the lockdown be lifted in phases. The Kerala expert committee had said that restrictions should be lifted in districts according to the decrease in number of patients and those quarantined.
Both these reports were submitted to the Central government and the Prime Minister’s office had taken them into consideration before arriving on its decision.
Ahead of the Saturday meeting, the Principal secretaries to the Prime Minister also held a meeting on Friday to take stock of the situation. An official statement from the principal secretaries office had stated that states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
The call for the extension of a nationwide lockdown began with an appeal from Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who stated that India may not be able to handle if the situation escalates due to the lockdown being hastily lifted. KCR has appealed to extend the lockdown for two more weeks after the current 21 lockdown ends on April 15.