No plans to extend lockdown: Centre put an end to rumours

Amid rumours
that the coronavirus lockdown will be extended beyond 10 days, the Centre
reiterated that there were no plans to extend it. “I am surprised to see
such reports. There is no such plan of extending the lockdown,” said
cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, reported sources.

“There
are rumours and media reports, claiming that the government will extend the
#Lockdown21 when it expires. The cabinet secretary has denied these reports,
and stated that they are baseless,” said the Press Information Bureau, the
government’s media body.

The 21-day
nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earned
approval of most political parties in India. The nationwide tally of confirmed
coronavirus cases crossed the 1,000-mark and the death toll reached 27 on
Sunday, even as the central government ordered sealing of all state and
district borders to check community transmission of the deadly virus by migrant
workers and asked those having left already to be quarantined for 14 days.

 The national capital alone reported 23 fresh
positive cases, taking its count to 72, while more people tested positive in
adjoining Noida as also in Maharashtra and Bihar, among other states. The new
cases included a SpiceJet pilot with no history of international travel.

Charitable
organisations, volunteers, religious institutions and government bodies
including the Railway Protection Force have fed tens of thousands of people
across the nation but many more remained outside the safety net.

Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast, sought the
nation’s forgiveness for the hardships caused by the stringent nationwide
lockdown, saying it was necessary because the country was fighting a battle
between life and death.

He, however,
expressed confidence that “we will definitely win the battle” against
the coronavirus menace and praised the front-line workers in this fight against
as well as countless workers delivering the essential services.