COVID-19: No Plan Of Extending Lockdown Says Cabinet Secretary

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba clarified that the government had no plans of extending the 21-day nationwide lockdown, according to a report by the news agency, ANI. The senior most civil servant in the country is reported to have observed that he was surprised to see reports saying the lockdown would be extended. This clarification by the Cabinet Secretary should quell any rumours or speculation on this count.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his televised address to the nation on Tuesday night, announced the imposition of a nationwide lockdown with effect from Wednesday. The announcement on the lockdown by PM Modi came two days after his appeal for Janata curfew on March 22, was widely followed by citizens across the country.

Meanwhile, ANI reported eight new Coronavirus positive cases from Madhya Pradesh,. 7 of them were recorded from Indore while one case was reported from Ujjain taking the total number of positive cases in Indore to 32, the agency report stated, quoting the Dean of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore.

India has recorded over 1,100 COVID-19 positive cases and 27 deaths so far. 95 people have been cured or discharged after the mandatory period of quarantine and isolation. The lockdown announced by the Prime Minister is seen by experts as a decisive measure to delay community transmission and thereby help state governments, as also the Centre, to tackle the evolving situation. Experts are of the opinion that the next two weeks will play a critical role as far as flattening the COVID-19 curve in India goes.