Coronavirus India: Government may extend lockdown

The central government may look at extending the coronavirus lockdown after April 14 after several states and health specialists suggesting on the ground that the pandemic is gaining speed at spreading.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a video-conference with chief ministers, had asked for a plan for the movement of people after the lockdown ends.

Soon after the video conference, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, took Twitter to declare, “The Prime Minister said that the State Government should not lift the lockdown immediately from April 15, but it should happen in phases. Precautions should be taken that there is no crowding.”

Now several states want to extend the lockdown. Multiple issues seem to have come into play with many states concerned about an unexpected spike in the number of positive cases if the lockdown is lifted.

Also, the Tablighi Jamaat incident has come as the main interruption to the central government’s plan of sticking to the 21-day lockdown as nearly one-third of coronavirus cases in India are currently linked to that gathering.

Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday, said saving lives was most important, and that should be the main objective on which a decision to end the lockdown should be taken. K Chandrasekhara Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana, is also among those who have inclined for extending the lockdown. However, the Narendra Modi government hasn’t made any declaration so far whether it is going to continue the existing lockdown or not.

In a statement to mark the weeks of lockdown, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Let’s live with the hardship a little longer for a better tomorrow. Between the considerations of the health of the people and stabilisation of our economy being debated, the former shall take precedence over the later. In my view, while the concerns of the economy can wait for another day, that of health can’t”.

Mentioning to the discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Ministers of the state on an exit plan, Naidu said people should stand by “whatever decision follows and cooperate with the same spirit that has so far been demonstrated even if hardship were to continue after April 14”.

The country is currently facing the 21-day lockdown since March 25, with just essential services exempted, to hold the fast-spreading coronavirus. 

Prime Minister Modi probably may decide on the conclusion of lockdown this week. 

According to ANI UP, 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Varanasi will be sealed completely till April 13.

Originating in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly across the world. The positive cases in India is nearing the 5,500-mark with Maharashtra being the worst affected with over 1,000 cases. The pandemic has killed over 83,000 people across the world with the active cases nearing the 1.1 million mark.