Chennai/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that the current lockdown will be extended till 3 May, saying it is very necessary to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
In a televised address to the nation, Modi said implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in coming days to ensure that the virus does not spread to new areas,
The Prime Minister said detailed guidelines on implementation of the new lockdown will be announced on Wednesday. Some relaxations may be allowed after 20 April in places where there is no hotspot, he said.
He said India has managed to contain the spread of infection well due to its holistic approach in dealing with the crisis and sacrifices made by people of the country in the fight produced positive results.
Modi said India received huge benefits from the 21-day lockdown in checking the pandemic and added that the country has dealt with the situation better with limited resources.
“India did not wait for the problem to escalate, rather, as soon as the problem appeared, we tried to stop it by taking swift decisions,” he said.
Modi added: “I can’t imagine what the situation would have been if such quick decisions were not taken.”
“Even before Covid-19 cases touched 100, India made it compulsory for foreign returnees to remain in 14 days isolation. We imposed 21-day lockdown when we had 550 cases,” the Prime Minister said.
“Even when India did not have a single corona patient, India had begun screening passengers from Covid-19 affected countries,” Modi said.
He said people have gone through hardships to save India. “I know how many difficulties you faced. I respectfully bow to the people of India for their sacrifice,” he said further.
Stating that India has successfully avoided coronavirus damage with the cooperation of people, he said people are acting like soliders. The lockdown that came into effect on 25 March was to expire on midnight of 144 April.
The drastic measure shone the spotlight on the miseries of lakhs of migrant workers whose journeys on foot from several urban centres to their villages hundreds of kilometres away grabbed headlines for many days last month.
The catastrophic effect of the lockdown on the overall economy and livelihoods of lakhs of migrant workers triggered severe concerns following which a number of chief ministers in their video conference with Modi on Saturday sought some kind of relaxation for a number of sectors.
Late last month, the government announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package aimed at providing relief to those hit hard by the lockdown as well as an insurance cover for healthcare professionals handling virus infected people.