PM Modi to hold meeting today with Chief Ministers on COVID-19 lockdown extension

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with chief ministers of all states on Saturday via video conferencing to make a call on further extension of the 21-day lockdown to tackle the coronavirus crisis.

Several states like Odisha and Punjab have already extended the lockdown period, and it seems more and more likely that the Centre will prolong the period of lockdown in the entire nation.

On Wednesday, Modi interacted with floor leaders of various parties, including the opposition, in Parliament to discuss the COVID-19 crisis.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress MP and leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar were among those who joined the meeting.

The Prime Minister told the leaders that "pre-corona and post-corona life won't be the same."

Congress' leader in Lok Sabha said that the Prime Minister hinted extension of lockdown beyond April 14.

Modi said that he has received suggestions from experts and all of them have recommended the extension of lockdown.

The prime minister has been interacting with various stakeholders, including doctors and journalists to get feedback on ways to check the spread of coronavirus.

Total cases recorded are 7,447 while active cases are 6,565. The number of patients who have been cured and discharged is 642, according to the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.