This lockdown will end on the 14th of April. In a widely publicized interaction between the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of all Indian States, the Prime Minister urged them to think of life after the lockdown. He said that an exit strategy needs now to be formulated.
What next after 21-day lockdown? And how long will it take life to return to normal, this is the question everyone is asking.
Meanwhile on Tuesday Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the final week of the ongoing lockdown is “critical” for evolving an exit strategy as data regarding the spread of coronavirus will have a bearing on the decision to be taken by the government.
He also appealed to the people to abide by whatever decision is ultimately taken by the government and cooperate with the same spirit that has so far been evident “even if it meant to continue with some degree of hardship still beyond April 14”. The 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 and it came into force on March 25.
“As today marks the completion of two weeks of nationwide lockdown in force since March 25, I thought it appropriate to reach out to the people and the leadership of the country with my views and concerns amidst current efforts to tide over the crisis caused by the outbreak of coronavirus,” Naidu said in a statement.
The centre has indicated that nationwide lockdown will continue even after April 14, but with certain conditions. After receiving feedbacks from states, Centre is all set to extend the lockdown, but it also planning give some relaxation to this lockdown.
According to highly placed sources, experts and states have requested the centre to extend the lockdown.
At the same time, according to sources, about two dozen separate meetings will be held between the Center and the state from April 10 to 13.
Further strategies will be considered from April 14 onwards. According to government sources, the next seven days are considered important.
It is obvious that the centre can’t decide the future course of action right now. It is closely monitoring the situation.
The final decision will also depend on the trend of new cases.
The government is hopeful that after the screening of the case of Markaz is over, number of new cases will start declining.
States’ Stand
- Telangana – It should be extended
- Madhya Pradesh – It must be extended
- Uttar Pradesh – There must be some restrictions. In an area like Noida, there is already Section 144 till April 30.
- Maharashtra – Must be extended
- Chhattisgarh – It should be extended
- Rajasthan – Task Force should decide
- Bihar: Will decide after taking into account the real situation. Lock down will be opened only partially
Meanwhile, the government-run website MyGovIndia on Tuesday deleted a tweet in which the news of extending the lockdown was described as ‘baseless’.
Recommendations of GoM
A Group of Ministers on COVID19 on Tuesday recommended extension of closure of all educational institutions and restricting all religious activities having public participation till May 15 irrespective of whether the government extends the 21-day lockdown or not, official sources said.
A meeting of the GoM chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and participated by Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded that religious centres, shopping malls and educational institutions must not be allowed to resume normal functioning at least for four weeks from April 14 when the current lockdown ends.
The thinking in the government is that schools and colleges will more or less remain shut till the end of June as the summer vacation will start from middle of May.
The GoM recommended that activities of all religious organisations should not be allowed till May 15 as a precautionary measure to check spread of coronavirus infection, the sources added.
The GoM has been tasked with monitoring the overall situation in the country arising out of the coronavirus pandemic and make recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The GoM also briefly discussed possible scenarios after end of the current spell of the lockdown.
It recommended that the inputs of the states are crucial in taking specific decisions on measures to contain the pandemic.
The GoM also recommended measures to enhance testing facilities for coronavirus infection in medical laboratories, the sources said.
Opposition leaders as well as leading healthcare experts have been pressing the government to ramp up infrastructure to increase coronavirus tests across the country to have a realistic assessment of the situation arising out of the pandemic in India.
The meeting was also attended by several key members of the Union Cabinet including Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were also among those who attended the meeting.
The GoM also recommend monitoring of the public places like religious centres and malls through surveillance drones, the sources said.
The GoM appreciated the decision of Union Cabinet to suspend the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years to facilitate additional resources to fight the pandemic.
