Lockdown in India extended until May 3: PM Narendra Modi

On April 14, 2020, PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation and shared the updates about the coronavirus outbreak in India. Keeping the critical condition in mind, the lockdown in India has been extended until May 3, 2020. He said that the decision was taken after consulting with the Chief Ministers, regarding the crisis in different states.

Further, he also emphasised that a strict protocol will be followed for the next week, i.e. until April 20, 2020, and said, "Till April 20, all districts, localities, states will be closely monitored, as to how strictly they are implementing the norms. States which will not let hotspots increase, could be allowed to let some important activities resume, but with certain conditions."

During the speech, PM Modi said that the country did not wait for the problem to escalate and the officials did their best to stop the spread, by taking swift decisions, emphasising on the kind of situation India would have been facing if these decisions were not taken. Health officials in India started screening patients at all the airports, even before the first case was identified. "Even when India did not have a single corona patient, India had begun screening passengers from COVID19 affected countries. Even before COVID19 cases touched 100, India made it compulsory for foreign returners to remain in 14 days isolation. We imposed 21-day lockdown when we had 550 cases," he added.

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He also asked Indians to follow this 'Saptapadi' - 7 points which will help us fight coronavirus. He asked everyone in the country to:

• Take care of your elderly members of the family, especially the ones who have health issues
• Follow the lockdown and social distancing rules. Use facemasks at all times, when in public.
• Improve your immunity. Follow AYUSH guidelines
• Refer 'Arogyasetu' mobile app to stay updated
• Help as many poor families as you can, during the crisis.
• Show empathy towards your employees. Do not fire them.
• Respect all the front end workers (doctors, police officers, health officers, etc.) during the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray extended the lockdown by two more weeks, until April 30, 2020. He said that this fight against coronavirus would only be possible if we follow the norms and guidelines. He also clarified that the lockdown may get extended keeping the crisis in mind. On Monday, April 13, 2020, Maharashtra crossed the 2000-mark with coronavirus cases, with an alarming death rate of 7.4 per cent. Further, Mumbai has the most number of cases in the state and owing to this situation, several areas in the city have been sealed and announced as containment or no-go zones.

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