Centre likely to extend lockdown till June 15
NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to extend the coronavirus-led nationwide lockdown till June 15. However, there could be more relaxations in the offing. The fourth phase of the lockdown is currently on and is slated to end on May 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first given the clarion call for a nationwide lockdown in order to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus on March 24. Since then, the lockdown has been extended three times.
According to senior sources in the home ministry told that the next phase will be a “lockdown extension in spirit”, and said that most of the focus would be on 11 cities that account for nearly 70 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the country. This includes the six major metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, as well as Pune, Thane, Jaipur, Surat and Indore.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 1.5 lakh mark, with the maximum number of cases being reported from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi. States like Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Odisha reporting a significant rise in their numbers amid the large-scale return of migrant workers from other states.
The numbers also rose further in the worst-hit states including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, while Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, among other states and union territories, also reported more new cases.
Addressing media persons, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary in Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said, “India’s recovery rate is steadily improving from 7.1% in March to 41.6% today. Our COVID-19 fatality rate is among the lowest in the world: It has reduced from 3.3% to 2.87% today.”
Meanwhile, The Punjab Government will decide on the future course of action with respect to the lockdown in the state on May 30. Disclosing this on Wednesday after the state cabinet meeting, an official spokesperson said the cabinet decided that the decision should be taken after an on-ground assessment of the situation a couple of days before the current lockdown is due to end.
(CNN News18 with Inputs from Chandigarh).
