Chief ministers of several states requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to extend the country-wide lockdown to contain the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The PM held a videoconference meeting – that continued for four hours — with chief ministers of at least 13 states on Saturday to review the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The lockdown was imposed on March 24 midnight for 21 days and is thus scheduled to end on April 14. Three states – Odisha, Punjab and Rajasthan – have already extended the lockdown till April 30.
The Prime Minister is expected to take a decision on the lockdown situation soon and whatever the decision is likely to be officially announced by him.
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However, after the meeting, Delhi chief minister Arvind 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.”
The Delhi CM, among many others, suggested in today’s meeting that the Centre should extend the lockdown across the country for it to be effective. Individual states extending the lockdown on their own will not be effective, he said. Kejriwal also suggested suspension of all kinds of transport during the extended lockdown.
Modi assured the CMs that he is available round-the-clock to discuss anything related to the lockdown. At the meeting, officials of the Union Health Ministry gave a presentation on the current situation.
