Centre hints at extending nation-wide lockdown

New Delhi: At the end of long video conference with chief minister, PM modi signalled that an extension of the lockdown is very much on the cards. Several chief ministers, speaking after the conference, said they would favour an extension.

Signifying the urgency of the situation, the PM appeared for the first time wearing a mask. During the interaction, prime minister said that the next 3-4 weeks critical to determine impact of steps taken till now to curb spread of the virus.

The prime minister urged the chief ministers to focus on the health and prosperity of the citizens in their respective states.

There are indications that the lockdown extension might come with relaxations to boost economic.

During the interaction, he also suggested that measures are being taken to ensure availability of protective gear and critical equipment for all front-line workers in COVID-19 fight:

After the conference, Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa said the next two weeks of lockdown, after April 14, would be different from the ongoing one for three weeks. He added the prime minister told the chief ministers that the lockdown extension was inevitable and guidelines will be issued about its implementation for further 15 days in a couple of days.

During the video conference with Modi, several chief ministers including Punjab's Amarinder Singh, West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal had suggested extending the lockdown at least by a fortnight.

Odisha and Punjab have already extended the lockdown till April 30 and May 1 respectively.

After the video conference, Delhi CM 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 important to extend it,

"We are also on same page with PM, want lockdown extended till April 30", West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said after the meeting.

The chief ministers who participated in it also included Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Manohar Lal (Haryana), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Nitish kumar (Bihar).