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Centre considering states' request to extend lockdown

New Delhi: Following requests from several state governments and experts, the Centre is introspecting to extend the nationwide lockdown after it ends on April 14 to stem the transmission of the novel Coronavirus.

However, sources did not indicate if a final decision has been taken on the matter, and Joint Secretary in the Union Health ministry Lav Agarwal said: "No decision on extending lockdown as yet (taken), please don't speculate."

India is currently under the 21-day lockdown since March 25, with only essential services exempted, to contain the fast-spreading virus, which has claimed more than 75,800 lives globally and afflicted over 13.5 lakh people across 183 countries.

"A lot of state governments, as well as experts, are requesting the Central Government to extend the lockdown. The Central government is thinking in this direction," a source said, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked countrymen to be ready for a long battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and exhorted people to not feel tired or defeated while expressing confidence that India will emerge victorious in the fight.

Chairing a meeting of the council of ministers through video conferencing on Monday, Modi had clearly indicated that the lifting of the lockdown in one go is very unlikely while discussing the modalities of lifting it.

The Prime Minister also asked the ministers whether the restrictions should be lifted sector-wise or district-wise, a source said.

Reiterating that lockdown measures and social distancing norms need to go hand in hand, Modi also told ministers to popularise 'Aarogya Setu' app in the rural areas and grass-root institutions.

Several Chief Ministers have favoured the extension of the lockdown in the country to contain the fast-spreading virus, as the number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 4,789 and death toll touched 124, according to latest Health ministry reports.

The total number of positive cases includes 508 cases in the last 24 hours with 353 persons having been discharged after recovery till now.

Among the states, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of 868 positive cases, out of which 56 have recovered and 48 have lost their battle against the deadly virus. Tamil Nadu has recorded 621 cases followed by Delhi (576).

However, in contrary to the Health ministry's report, Maharashtra Health minister Rajesh Tope said the state has reported a total of 1,018 positive cases. 150 new cases have been reported on Tuesday, while 79 have recovered so far.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his government will extend lockdown if the need arises, while his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot added that the state cannot withdraw the lockdown immediately and it has to be done in a phased manner.

In a statement to mark two weeks of the lockdown, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said the next one week of the lockdown is "critical" and also appealed to the public to abide by whatever decision is ultimately taken by the government and cooperate with the same spirit that has been evident so far, "even if it meant to continue with some degree of hardship beyond April 14".

On Monday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had said he will appeal to the Prime Minister to extend the lockdown.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary R K Tiwari said: "There is still time for the lockdown and we will review the situation and then decide" on lifting it.

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