India’s lockdown extended till May 3

The three-week lockdown across India which was imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 3, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today.

In a televised address to the nation this morning, he said some relaxation in the lockdown may be given after April 20 in areas where there is no coronavirus hotspot, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Any decision on easing the lockdown in parts of the country would be taken after a review of the situation on April 20 keeping in mind the difficulties of the poor, Modi said.

"After taking into account all suggestions, we have decided to extend the lockdown till May 3," PM Modi said in his 22-minute address.

"Till April 20, each district, each state of the country will be monitored closely to see whether the lockdown guidelines are being followed. Then we can decide on relaxing the restrictions," said the Indian prime minister.

Some essential activities would be allowed in areas which show improvement after April 20, he added.

The lockdown extension came shortly after the Health Ministry announced that the total number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed 10,000, with 339 deaths and 1,211 fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours alone.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for a strict compliance with lockdown conditions to ensure that COVID-19 did not spread to a single new area and said citizens had put up with every difficulty during the shutdown to ensure that India was ahead in the fight against the virus.

Modi said the government would come out with extensive guidelines tomorrow regarding adherence to lockdown.

He said the fight against coronavirus will be made more stringent in the next one week as emergence of new hotspots of the disease will create a new crisis.

Modi said suggestions from various stakeholders including states and people, have favoured the extension of the lockdown.

Making a strong defence of his government's strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus, Modi said India was in much better shape than many countries with greater capabilities in the fight against the contagion.

"If our country had not taken a holistic, integrated approach and had not acted fast, then it is frightening to think what the situation would have been today," he said.

Even before India had a single coronavirus positive case, the country began medical screening of international air passengers and when India had 550 coronavirus cases, it went for a 21-day lockdown to prevent spread of the virus, said the PM.

Modi said India may have paid a major economic price for the lockdown but there can be no alternative to saving human lives.

He sought people's support in seven things, including taking care of elderly, maintaining social distancing and helping the poor.

Modi said there is adequate stock of medicines and ration.