This Article is From Apr 10, 2020

Coronavirus - Punjab Becomes Second State To Extend COVID-19 Lockdown Till May 1

Punjab Lockdown: Punjab has registered 132 till Friday despite a strict three-week clampdown to control the outbreak.

Coronavirus Lockdown: A deserted street in Amritsar during the COVID-19 lockdown in Punjab.

Chandigarh:

The Punjab government on Friday said it was extending the COVID-19 lockdown in the state till May 1, becoming the second state to do after Odisha.

Punjab has registered 132 till Friday despite a strict three-week clampdown to control the outbreak.

Areas in Delhi and Mumbai have emerged as hotspots and many states have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the nationwide lockdown beyond its expiry date of Tuesday.

The country's shutdown has left crores out of work and forced an exodus of migrant workers from the cities to their homes in the hinterland, but states say it is more important to save lives.

Officials have warned that widespread transmissions could be disastrous in the country where crores of people live in dense slums, social distancing norms are often impossible and the health care system is overburdened.

The concern is especially grave in Mumbai, where more than 1,100 people have tested positive for the virus, including a growing number from the slums, where a total lockdown is impossible to enforce.

One scenario visualises an extended lockdown in Mumbai, while some curbs are eased in the surrounding western state of Maharashtra, sources told NDTV.

Punjab too has said it may allow relief to farmers in some districts from the lockdown to harvest the winter-spring crop.

Addressing an online news briefing, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that predictions by health experts about the spread of the pandemic are "horrendous and frightening".

Saying that most of the new cases reported in Punjab were those of secondary transmission, the Chief Minister said there were indications of his state "moving into" the community transmission stage of the outbreak.

Community transmission is Stage 3 of an outbreak, when the infections escalate and it is difficult to trace the source.

However, the central government asserted again that India is not in that stage. "I reiterate, there is no community transmission yet across the country," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry at a daily briefing in Delhi.

Vikas Swarup, a top foreign ministry official said, India's tally is small compared to the rest of the world and the lockdown prevented a surge that would have been difficult to handle.

(With inputs from agencies)

World

67,69,38,430Cases
62,55,71,965Active
4,44,81,893Recovered
68,84,572Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 200 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 67,69,38,430 and 68,84,572 have died; 62,55,71,965 are active cases and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 10:54 am.

India

4,50,19,214 475Cases
3,919 -83Active
4,44,81,893 552Recovered
5,33,402 6Deaths
In India, there are 4,50,19,214 confirmed cases including 5,33,402 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,919 and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 8:00 am.

State & District Details

State Cases Active Recovered Deaths
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