12.4.20

Maharashtra extends lockdown till April 30

With a continuous spike in COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra government extended the ongoing lockdown period till April 30, hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, along with other chief ministers, attended a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing.

In a live webcast, Thackeray said the lockdown, which was supposed to end on April 14, will be extended till April 30 in view of the lack of any other options.

Explaining the broad contours of the plan, the CM said while restrictions would be eased in certain areas in the state during the extended period, they will become stricter in others.

The CM said he had conveyed this decision to the prime minister during the meeting of all the chief ministers.

Before Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab had formally extended the lockdown period till April 30.

Thackeray said the decision regarding pending examinations, restarting of industrial units and the migrant workers stranded in the state will be announced before April 14. He further said that the complete lifting of the lockdown will depend upon how soon the chain of the coronavirus transmission is broken in the most affected state.

Although no official announcement has been made, state chief ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at a consensus over a nationwide two-week extension of the ongoing lockdown. Chief Ministers from 13 states joined a video conference with the PM on Saturday morning that went on for four hours during which the states raised issued they were facing in the battle against Covid-19 and also shared positive experiences from their states.

Modi reportedly told the CMs that his government was moving from its earlier mantra of ‘jaan hai toh jahan hai’ to ‘jaan bhi, jahaan bhi’ hinting that he was keen on not only saving lives but also livelihoods of people. While the Centre will prioritize the health of the people, steps will also be taken to ensure that the economy is not affected too badly.

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