Saamna blames Trump's visit for the spread of COVID-19

Shiv Sena 's mouthpiece Saamna has managed to ruffle a few feathers as it stated that the event which was held in Ahmedabad to welcome US President Donald Trump back in February was responsible for the spread of coronavirus in Gujarat. That later spread in Mumbai and Delhi, where some of his delegates had visited. This article has been signed by Sanjay Raut alleged.

The article also criticized the Centre stating that the lockdown was implemented without any planning. However, at the moment, the responsibility of lifting the lockdown was left to the states. The Sena MP added that despite the opposition BJP's attempts to pull down the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, there was no threat to it as its survival as it is the ''majboori'' which roughly translates to compulsion, of all the three ruling allies- Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress.

On February 24, Trump along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had participated in a road-show in Ahmedabad, which was attended by thousands of people. After the road-show, the two leaders had addressed a gathering of over one lakh people at Motera cricket stadium, run by Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). Meanwhile, Gujarat had reported its first coronavirus cases on March 20, when samples of a man from Rajkot and a woman from Surat tested positive for the disease.

In recent developments, the Centre on Saturday announced that the coronavirus lockdown in the containment zones has been extended till June 30, 2020. Soon after, the Home Ministry issued guidelines to facilitate a phase-wise relaxation of the lockdown with the sole focus on the economy.

The first phase of the lockdown in the country due to coronavirus was announced on March 24 for a duration of three weeks. The government in that phase had only allowed a handful of essential services. The Centre then extended the lockdown till May 3 but eased a few restrictions. As cases increased, the lockdown was further extended till May 17 but the focus now seems to be on the economy that was severely affected because of the lockdown.