PM Modi's Video Conference With Chief Ministers On Monday On Coronavirus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi would hold a video conference with state chief ministers -- his fourth since the lockdown started -- to discuss the coronavirus situation. The video-conference will begin at 10 am on Monday, sources said. Sources said this would be a review meeting that's coming after the lockdown was extended on April 14. Sources said the ministers are likely to discuss the responses to the partial relaxations granted on April 20 to certain sectors, the situation regarding test kits and the protection of doctors.

This afternoon, the government passed an ordinance to protect medical personnel from mounting attacks. The new rules have provisions for stringent punishment, involving jail terms of upto seven years and fines of upto Rs 5 lakh.

Yesterday, Rapid Test kits made in China became a matter of controversy as Rajasthan complained about erratic results, which were borne out by tests in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Sources have said that there has been no talk of extending the lockdown. There is a possibility that after May 3, there will be conditional relief from the lockdown in parts least affected by coronavirus, sources said.

The discussion comes days after partial relief from the lockdown was granted to certain sectors. The government wanted to ensure that agricultural activities, manufacturing, logistics and e-commerce can start with minimal impact on the fight against coronavirus.

While announcing extension of the lockdown on April 14, the Prime Minister had also asked the states to focus exclusively on implementing it for the next seven days. Based on that observation, central teams were sent to five states, including Bengal, to take stock of the ground situation. But the matter turned into a political battle as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned why her state was being singled out.

In the first meet on March 20, the ministers had focused on containment measures, improvement of medical infrastructure and training local health resources.

The video-conference on April 2 – the second since the lockdown started – was devoted to the discussion on an exit strategy once the lockdown ends. The nine Chief Ministers who attended were asked to "work on war footing, identify virus hotspots and encircle them" to contain the infection.

In the last videoconference, held on April 11, at least 13 Chief Ministers asked for an extension of the lockdown. The Prime Minister had sought feedback from the chief ministers on the extension of the three-week lockdown and in his address, made it clear that the extension was also a demand from the states.

The number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 20,471 of whom 3,960 patients have recovered. More than 650 patients have died. The spike over the last 24 hours was 1,486 – the biggest so far.