NEW DELHI/DHAKA (Asia) – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the decision to extend a nationwide lockdown to tackle the coronavirus spread, according to the chief minister of Delhi state. He has not disclosed how long the extension would be for.
Modi held a video conference call with state ministers to take a call on the future course once the current 21-day lockdown ends this Tuesday.
Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal states that Modi had “taken (a) correct decision to extend (the) lockdown” without giving any further details.
“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.”
– Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister
The coronavirus infection numbers in India rose to 7,447 on Saturday, with the New Delhi and Mumbai quickly emerging as hotspots. There have been 239 deaths so far.
Many states urged Modi to extend the lockdown, even with concerns regarding the effect of the restrictions on the millions of poor people out of work, forcing an exodus of migrant workers from cities to villages.
Operations of the marine fishing and the aquaculture industry will be exempted from the lockdown restrictions.
Around 81 migrant workers were arrested in Surat after starting fires and throwing stones in protests late on Friday evening, to be allowed to go return to their home areas.
Widespread virus infections could be disastrous in India, where millions live in slums and the health system already seems overburdened.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.