Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that the lockdown announced last month to contain the coronavirus pandemic will extend till April 30. There could be some relaxations later, he said, but it would depend on the behaviour of the people of the state.
In a Twitter thread, Thackeray said he was the first to speak to the PM in the video conference held earlier in the day between Modi and Chief Ministers of 13 different States.
“From April 14 till at least April 30, there will be a lockdown. Somewhere we can relax the lockdown but will tell you about it (later). It all depends on how you behave in the lockdown. Don’t crowd to get groceries,” he said in an address to the people of the state.
“Whoever can, please work from home,” he added, saying that the State and Centre were cooperating and that this wasn’t the time to play politics.
His entire address, which mentions that Mumbai has seen a steady spike in cases (1000), can be read here.
“We are sealing areas and declaring containment zones. We are providing them with essentials. Now we are not waiting for patients to come to us but going to them for tests. 19,000 people were tested in Mumbai alone,” he said, adding that the BMC is doing door-to-door COVID tests to detect the transmission.
Various reports suggest that the consensus among states is to extend the lockdown at least by two weeks.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also announced an extension of the lockdown in her State
Reports also said that many CMs asked for fiscale respite from the Centre. India had earlier rolled out a ₹1.7 trillion relief package, to limit the economic damage caused by the outbreak. However, several experts have termed as inadequate.
For now, the CMs seem to endorse the decision to extend the lockdown, although no official announcement from the PM himself was made.
India’s total COVID count surged past the 7,000 mark with a total 239 deaths thus far.