Centre set to extend lockdown by 2 weeks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated on Saturday, after a marathon four­hour video­conference with Chief Ministers, that the country could see a 14­ day extension of the COVID­19 containment lockdown as that was the common demand of a large number of States, keeping in view of the spread of the Covid19 pandemic in the country. With Odisha and Punjab having already announced the extension of the lockdown, many CMs, including Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal also favored continuation of the lockdown beyond April 14.

PM Narendra Modi said while the earlier mantra was “Jaan hai to Jahan hai (if there is life, you can enjoy the world)”, the way ahead would be guided by “Jaan Bhi, Jahan Bhi (life as well as our world)”. PM said the situation had “left us with no option but to extend the lockdown by at least two weeks”. The discussions ended with a broad agreement on framing norms for greater public movement.