The centre is likely to extend the nationwide lockdown by two more weeks after May 31 in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, News18 reported.
Top government sources told the news channel that the extension will majorly focus on states and cities that have 70% of total COVID-19 cases in the country, including Pune, Thane, Jaipur, Surat, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, and described the next phase as ‘lockdown extension in spirit’.
Restrictions on malls, cinema halls, schools, colleges, other educational institutions and other places that can have large gatherings, will continue, the agency reported.
The speculations come at a time when India saw the highest single-day count of COVID-19 cases for four consecutive days last week.
However, earlier on Wednesday before the Karnataka government requested the centre for reopening of places of worship, assuring the implementation of social distancing norms.
As per the latest updates, India now has surpassed a 1.5 lakh mark of confirmed coronavirus cases that has doubled in 14 days, most of them reported from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi, with the death toll at 4,365 and 64,733 recoveries.
Many Asian countries have managed to flatten their trajectories, but India’s curve continues to steepen especially from the last 14 days, which poses severe challenges considering the country’s medical capacity and shortage of protective equipment.
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