India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, APRIL 11— During the four-hour meeting between the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers today, both the PM and CMs appeared to be on the same page as for the extension of the ongoing 21-day lockdown is concerned, say media reports.
After the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went to Twitter to announce that “PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown.”
“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,” Kejriwal tweeted around 3:30 PM on Saturday.
However, PM’s office or Home Ministry has not yet made any official announcement in this regard but they are considering the requests of CMs.
“During the video-conferencing on #coronavirusinindia with state CMs today, most states requested PM @narendramodi to extend the lockdown for 2 more weeks. The Central Government is considering this request,” Principal Spokesperson for the central government has reportedly said.
The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain Coronavirus is ending on April 14 midnight.
Has the lockdown helped? Yes, It Has, Says Health Ministry
The Press Information Bureau has shared a statistical analysis (in chart form) by the Ministry of Health on how the lockdown majorly checked the virus from spreading at mass level.
“If India had not implemented either containment or nationwide #lockdown, case growth by 41%, 8.2 lakh #COVID2019 cases by Apr 15,” said PIB. If containment measures were taken but no lockdown, then India had 1.2 lakh cases by Apr 15, it added. “Since we have acted – 7,447 cases on Apr 11,” said PIB.
In view of the cases of COVID-19 continuing going up, it is unlikely the lockdown will not be extended. For past some days, several CMs have been demanding the extension. At least three state governments – Odisha, Punjab and Rajasthan – have already announced their decision for extension till April 30. Maharashtra CM also told PM that the state would extend the lockdown. Today, Karnataka also announced to extend it till April 30.
As of today, according to the Health Ministry, there are 6565 active Coronavirus cases in India besides 642 who have been discharged after getting cured and 239 have died.
