After Delhi, 5 more states favour curbs in hotspots beyond May 3

Will Follow Centre’s Directive, Say Guj, AP, TN, Haryana, HP & Karnataka

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

A day after the Delhi government said the lockdown would have to be continued till May 16 in the national capital, five states — Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab and Odisha — on Saturday veered towards extending curbs in hotspots of their respective states beyond May 3.

Six other states — Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka — said they would follow the Centre’s directive, while Assam, Kerala and Bihar would take a call after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with states and Union territories on Monday. Telangana, the only state to have already extended the lockdown, said it would take a call two days before the curb ends on May 7.

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope backed extension of lockdown in the containment zones in Mumbai and Pune, which account for 92% of the total cases in the state, till May 18. “A discussion on extending the lockdown will be taken in the video conference with the PM on Monday. If required, we will extend the lockdown for 15 more days after May 3. It may only be for the containment zones, if not for the entire Mumbai and Pune,” he said.

The Yogi Adityanath government in UP, too, wants to wait before opening up shops.

Significantly, three opposition-ruled states of Bengal, Odisha and Punjab seem to be in favour of extending the lockdown in affected areas after May 3.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh is of the view that it may not be possible to lift the lockdown completely for some more time as the state has witnessed three peaks in the Covid-19 curve in the past 40 days.

Full report on www.toi.in

STATE OF LOCKDOWN: A queue to collect food distributed by volunteers in Noida on Saturday