Covid-19 lockdown extended to 3 May, says PM Modi

A short while ago Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his third address to the country this month on the steps being taken to tackle the Covid-19 situation in India. His address came on a day when the total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed 10,000, with 339 deaths.

PM Modi said that the countrywide lockdown will now be extended to 3 May and appealed to the public to obey the norms of social distancing to ensure that cases do not rise. He praised the efforts taken until now to control the spread of the virus and said that India is in a far better position compared to other countries because of early steps taken.

He also said that in the next one week, the fight against Covid-19 will be intensified. Until 20 April, every district and state will be closely monitored to check how they are enforcing the norms of the lockdown. Those states that control the spread of hotspots will see a lifting of the lockdown measures. This will be partial however and people will not be allowed to move out of the area. If cases rise again, the lockdown will be enforced once again.

We cannot let cases rise. We will be releasing a new set of guidelines tomorrow which will specify the steps being taken to provide relief to farmers who are the worst affected in the pandemic. The country has enough stocks of food and medicines and we are taking steps to remove the hurdles being faced in the supply chain. We have made arrangements for over one lakh hospital beds and there are over 600 hospitals working to treat people affected. Even if India has limited means, I am appealing to young scientists to come forward and make the coronavirus vaccine. – Prime Minister Narendra Modi

He ended his address by asking the public to support him in seven aspects:

• Take care of the elders in your homes especially those with a medical history.
• Respect lockdown and social distancing norms. Use face homemade face masks to protect yourself.
• Increase your immunity and follow the guideline shared by the Ayush Ministry.
• Download the Arrogya Setu mobile app and encourage others to do the same.
• Help poor families as much as possible by supplying food.
• Help those employed in your organisations and do not ask them to leave their jobs.
• Respect all those working to fight the Covid-19.

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