PM Modi Wears Mask During Video Interaction With CMs

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore a mask in his video conference with chief ministers of all states on Saturday morning, to emphasise the importance of facemasks in the fight against COVID-19. As visuals of Prime Minister Modi went viral, it drove home the message of social distancing and the importance of protecting oneself with the use of facemasks in the battle against the Coronavirus pandemic. PM Modi is clearly setting an example and sending out this key message to the nation by wearing a face mask during the video interaction.

Several chief ministers including Uddhav Thackeray of Maharashtra, Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, E Palanisamy of Tamil Nadu, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, are among leaders of their states who were seen sporting a mask during the video conference.

PM Modi had earlier asked states to come up with a blueprint on the extension of the lockdown period and is believed to be taking inputs from them before the Centre would announce a final decision. The prime minister is expected to announce a final decision in the matter of the extension of the lockdown on Sunday or Monday.

Most states prefer an extension of the lockdown period while some including Kerala have sought a phased withdrawal of the restrictions. It is being speculated that the Centre might leave some of the decisions of movement within a particular state to the state government in question.

The Punjab government has extended the lockdown period to May 1. It has however exempted farmers for whom harvesting is a critical activity over the next few weeks. The Punjab government is reportedly looking at the district my district approach on containment.

Odisha has already extended the lock down to April 30, while Telangana has indicated that it would request the Prime Minister to extend the lockdown by two weeks. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have also backed an extension of the lockdown.

A number of important issues including financial crunch, medical supplies and equipment are among items which are likely to feature in the Prime Minister's interaction with the state chief ministers.