COVID-19: Punjab extends lockdown till May 1

Chandigarh: The Punjab government Friday extended the ongoing lockdown till May 1, amid the rising number of coronavirus cases and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh apprehending the state might be moving towards the community transmission stage of the outbreak.

The decision to extend the lockdown was taken at a video-conference meeting of the council of ministers, chaired by Singh, to check the community spread of the pandemic and to prevent overcrowding at the mandis in the light of the ensuing wheat harvesting and procurement season, the government said in a statement here.

Chief Minister Singh said in a tweet:

Punjab became the second state after Odisha to extend the lockdown, even as the Centre considers proposals by several states to continue the restrictions beyond April 14, when the ongoing nationwide 21-day lockdown is slated to end.

The Punjab government statement said the Chief Minister will convey the decision of extending the lockdown to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his conference with CMs on Saturday.

Punjab was the first state in the country that had clamped curfew on March 23 to check the spread of the coronavirus.

The state has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in the past few days, pushing the total count to 151 with 11 deaths till Friday evening. On Friday, 21 fresh cases were reported from the state.