Coronavirus: India’s lockdown likely to extend beyond May 3

The Indian government has hinted that the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 would be extended beyond May 3, but with "considerable relaxations" for people and services in many districts.

The hint came soon after lakhs of migrant workers, tourists, students and people stranded in different parts of the country due to the lockdown were allowed on Wednesday to move to their respective destinations with certain conditions, giving a big relief to the distressed.

In a series of tweets late on Wednesday evening, ahome ministry spokesperson said there was a need to maintain a strict lockdown till May 3 so that the "tremendous gains made due to the lockdown so far are not squandered."

The nationwide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. It was further extended till May 3.

The home ministry spokesperson said a comprehensive review meeting on the lockdown situation across India was held and it was found that "there have been tremendous gains and improvement in the Covid-19 situation due to the lockdown till now."

The ministry also said that "new guidelines to fight Covid-19 will come into effect from May 4, which shall give considerable relaxations to many districts", details of which would be communicated in the days to come.

The guidelines, issued under the Disaster Management Act by the Indian Home Secretary, specify the people and services exempted from the lockdown.

The home ministry spokesperson also said to ensure that these gains are not squandered away, the lockdown guidelines should be strictly observed till May 3.

The Telangana state government has already extended the lockdown till May 7 while the Punjab government extended it for two more weeks beyond May 3.

Several chief ministers, who attended a meeting convened by Modi on Monday last, have favoured extension of the lockdown as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

The number of Covid-19 hotspots in India on Wednesday has come down to 129 from 170 a fortnight ago, but in the same period the number of infection-free districts or green zones too decreased from 325 to 307.

During this time, the number of non-hotspot districts, also known as orange zones, increased from 207 to 297.

According to health ministry data, the number of coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 31,787 and the number of fatalities rose to 1,008 on Wednesday, registering a record jump of 71 deaths in 24 hours.

The government has already allowed industrial activities in rural areas with conditions. Similarly, apart from the shops for the essential commodities, standalone business establishments of non-essential goods were also allowed to open during the lockdown.

Movement of essential and non-essential cargos are also allowed on trucks and trains.