COVID-19 lockdown: PM holds meeting with CMs; Delhi, Punjab suggest extension of nationwide lockdown till April 30

The chief ministers of Delhi and Punjab on Saturday suggested extension of the nationwide lockdown till April 30 during a meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with all state chief ministers to discuss the situation arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to take their feedback on whether the 21-day shutdown should be extended.

During the interaction held via video conferencing, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh suggested extension of the national lockdown by at least a fortnight after April 14.

Sources said, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also suggested extension of the lockdown till April 30.

Modi, accompanied by some senior officials, including from the Union health ministry, was wearing a white mask during the meeting which was also attended by chief ministers -- Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Manohar Lal (Haryana), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Nitish kumar (Bihar).

The Central government is understood to have also obtained views on the issue from all the relevant agencies and stakeholders involved in the efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The video conference, which began at 11am, came amidst indications that the Central government may extend the nationwide lockdown with some possible relaxations even as Punjab and Odisha have already announced extending the lockdown beyond April 14 when the current spell of 21-day shutdown ends on Tuesday.

The Union Home Ministry has sought views of state governments on various aspects, including whether more categories of people and services need to be exempted. In the current lockdown only essential services are exempted.

This is for the second time the prime minister is interacting with the chief ministers via video link after the lockdown was imposed.

During his April 2 interaction with chief ministers, Modi had pitched for a "staggered" exit from the ongoing lockdown.

A PTI tally of numbers reported by various states as on Thursday at 9.30pm showed a total of 7,510 having been affected by the virus nationwide so far with at least 251 deaths. More than 700 have been cured and discharged. However, the last update from the Union Health Ministry put the number of confirmed infections at 7,447 and the death toll at 239.

Addressing floor leaders of various parties who have representation in Parliament, Modi had on Wednesday made it clear that the lockdown cannot be lifted in one go, asserting that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".

According to an official statement after the Wednesday interaction, the prime minister told these leaders that states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.

Before the lockdown was announced on March 24, the prime minister had interacted with the chief ministers on March 20 to discuss ways and means to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.