Karnataka on Saturday announced extension of the ongoing lockdown till April 30 for effectively controlling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national lockdown is scheduled to end on April 14. However, relaxation will be allowed over the next two-week period in a graded manner.
The announcement came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chief Ministers of all States where he talked of the importance and need for extending the lockdown on a national scale to save the lives of the people and control the spread of the virus.
Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa told a press conference here on Saturday that unlike the ongoing 21-day lockdown, the Centre suggested that norms would be relaxed in the next phase for sections like fishermen, the farming community, industry and labour. However, public transport is likely to remain off the road and schools and colleges continue to be shut. “The Centre stressed the need for a relaxation of lockdown in a graded manner,” said Mr. Yediyurappa.
The Centre is expected to provide a set of detailed guidelines in a couple of days on relaxation norms to be followed by States during the extended period. The Prime Minister had a four-hour-long discussion with Chief Ministers via videoconference and evaluated the lockdown impact on various sections of the people.
The State Cabinet on Thursday unanimously decided to extend the lockdown period in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases. However, the government deferred taking a final decision till the meeting with Prime Minister on Saturday.
“I humbly request you to do your part and #stayathome so that we can get out of this at the earliest,” Mr. Yediyurappa appealed in a tweet.
