No extension on India’s 21-day lockdown

The Indian government today said it has no plans to extend the 21-day nationwide lockdown, which ends on April 14, to check the spread of coronavirus.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting tweeted, saying Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has denied media reports claiming that the government will extend the lockdown, which is into its eighth day today.

"There are rumours and media reports, claiming that the government will extend the #Lockdown21 when it expires. The Cabinet Secretary has denied these reports, and stated that they are baseless," it said.

The 21-day lockdown is aimed at checking the spread of coronavirus.

The lockdown has triggered a massive exodus of migrant labourers from big cities to their villages across India after being rendered jobless. These labourers walked miles to return to their homes in different states of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 ordered the three-week "total lockdown" to break the chain of transmission of the virus, which spreads rapidly. "Forget about stepping out of your homes," he had said.

In the past week, keeping up the supply of essential goods and food, and controlling the massive flow of migrants heading home have been the biggest challenges in the fight against the disease and enforce "social distancing" was necessary to check spread of the contagion.

Coronavirus has affected over 1,000 people and claimed 27 lives across India so far.