No plan to extend lockdown: Govt
| Date :31-Mar-2020 |
Volunteers distribute food among poor people during a nationwide lockdown, imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic at Paharganj in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)
NEW DELHI :
THE Government on Monday said that there was no immediate plan to extend the 21-day lockdown amid fears that shutdown of businesses across the country to counter the spread of coronavirus may trigger severe economic and social distress. The clarification by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba came after hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers undertook long journeys from major urban centres on foot to their homes in the last five days, reflecting their struggle for survival due to job losses following the lockdown. The Central Government has already directed States to make arrangements for shelter and food for the migrant workers.
In a tweet, the Government’s Press Information Bureau said: “There are rumours & 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.” A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday carried out a comprehensive review of the situation arising out of the lockdown, including movement of the migrant labourers.
There have been fears that the lockdown may spark severe economic and social distress. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the sudden lockdown has created immense “panic” and “confusion”. He called for steps other than a total lockdown announced by some developed nations to tackle the deadly disease. Gandhi said the number of poor people in India who are dependent on a daily income is too large to unilaterally shut down all economic activities in the wake of the pandemic.
Centre rules out community level transmission
NEW DELHI :
REITERATING that COVID-19 is still in the local transmission stage in India, the Health Ministry on Monday said it took 12 days for cases of infection to rise from 100 to 1,000 and that the rate of increase has been slower than some of the developed countries. Addressing the daily press briefing on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal said 92 new cases and four deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in India since Sunday, taking total cases to 1,071 and the number of deaths to 29.
“It took 12 days for cases to rise from 100 to 1,000 in our country, whereas seven other developed nations having lesser population than us have seen multiple increase,” he said. Agarwal attributed the slow pace of rise in cases in India to people’s participation in strictly following the social distancing guidelines and the collective preemptive actions taken by the Centre in tandem with State Governments. Underlining the importance of social distancing, he said even one person’s carelessness can lead to the spread of this pandemic.
He, however, said instead of panic, there is a need for creating awareness about COVID-19. “Technically, COVID-19 is still in the local transmission stage in the country as there has been no community transmission as of now,” he said, adding, “If there will be a community transmission we will want to covey it to the community through you (media) to increase the level of alertness and management for COVID-19 at the field level.” Speaking at the same press conference, Raman R Gangakhedkar, Head of Epidemiology and Communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said 38,442 tests have been conducted till now, out of which 3,501 were done on Sunday. He said that 47 private laboratories have been given approval for conducting COVID-19 tests and in the last three days, 1,334 tests have been done in private labs, he said.
“We are still utilising less than 30 per cent of our testing capacity,” he reiterated. “Most of the positive cases for the coronavirus had a travel history,” Agarwal added. “We should maintain social distancing. Even one person’s carelessness may play a big role in the spreading of the coronavirus,” he said.