India set to extend nationwide lockdown by 2 more weeks

India today appeared set to extend the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown by two more weeks in a bid to contain the spread of novel coronavirus that has so far claimed 239 lives and affected nearly 7,447 people in the country.

A consensus for extending the current lockdown, which ends on April 14, today emerged at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of all states via video conferencing to strategise ahead for tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.

Most of the chief ministers favoured extending the lockdown till April 30, and sought financial and fiscal assistance from the Centre to boost their resources in this fight against the pandemic, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The Indian premier observed that the combined efforts of the Centre and the states have definitely helped reduce the impact of Covid-19 but since the situation is rapidly evolving, constant vigilance is paramount.

He emphasised on the criticality of coming 3-4 weeks for determining the impact of the steps taken till now to contain the virus.

Meanwhile, the Indian Health Ministry today said there had been 40 deaths and 1,035 positive cases in the country in last 24 hours.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of Indian Health Ministry, told the daily media briefing here that had there been no lockdown, there would have been a 41 percent hike in Covid-19 cases resulting in 8.2 lakh cases by April 15.

PM Modi assured that India has adequate supplies of essential medicines and said that measures are being taken to ensure availability of protective gear and critical equipment for all front-line health workers.

He suggested that direct marketing for farm produce can be incentivised to prevent crowding in wholescale markets.

The prime minister gave a stern message against black marketing and hoarding of goods, condemned instances of attacks on doctors and medical staff and incidents of misbehaviour with students from North-East and Kashmir, and said such cases need to be dealt with firmly.

He also spoke about the need to curb lockdown violations and ensure that social distancing is followed.