Punjab government extends lockdown till April 30

The Punjab government on Friday (April 10) extended the coronavirus lockdown till April 30, becoming the second state after Odisha to do so.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the council of ministers here. Extension by 21 days from today. Strict enforcement (sic), Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu tweeted.

Punjab has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in the past few days, pushing the total count to 132 so far with 11 deaths.

Earlier in the day, during a video conference with the media, hosted by the AICC from New Delhi, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had indicated that his government was seriously thinking of extending the lockdown as the time did not appear to be right for lifting the ongoing restrictions.

He also said the government was looking for ways to extricate the state from the restrictions and enable it to function with the coronavirus around.

A high-powered committee with several doctors, medical and other experts, was examining the situation and will soon submit its report on the lockdown exit strategy, the Chief Minister said.

Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana too have requested for an extension of the lockdown for another 15 days.

Related news | Odisha extends lockdown till April 30, requests Centre to do so

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to interact with chief ministers of all states on Saturday (April 11) via video conferencing, where a decision would be taken on whether the 21-day lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, should be extended.