Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Puducherry extend coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown till April 30

So far the northeast state has reported only one coronavirus case.

New Delhi: In line with Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, the government of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Puducherry on Monday (April 13) extended the lockdown period for a fortnight to April 30, to contain the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 infection. The announcement came a day before the end of the 21-day lockdown announced by the central government on March 24.

The lockdown has been extended till April 30, Arunachal Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar said. So far Arunachal has reported only one coronavirus case.

Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said that Cabinet has approved an extension of lockdown in the Union Territory till April 30. "Since our neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu is continuing with lockdown, we cannot overrule it. We must also follow lockdown till April 30. Puducherry Cabinet has approved the lockdown extension in Puducherry till April 30. I also spoke to the political party leader who had given their consent for lockdown extension," said Narayanasamy.

"Although this is a very tough decision to take, we have to do this for the people of Puducherry," he added. Narayansamy said that all the CM's during the video conferencing meeting with the Prime Minister had stressed the need to continue with the lockdown. "Our neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana are continuing with Lockdown. Tomorrow Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 am," he added.

Mizoram CM  Zoramthanga too announced his government was extending the lockdown in the state till April 30 with new guidelines to consolidate the gains made over the past three weeks in the fight against coronavirus. He said the intensity of restrictions during the next two weeks could differ from district to district and village to village depending on the situation in the areas.

So far Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Odisha, West Bengal, Telangana and Karnataka had announced the extension of lockdown period for a fortnight.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami announced the extension of the lockdown in Tamil Nadu till April 30. In an official release, Palaniswami said the rate of infection in the state has been reined in since the lockdown was implemented vigorously and if the curbs were eased, it might lead to a spurt in the spread of the contagion.

Later, Maharashtra's revenue and disaster management departments too issued a notification announcing the extension of the lockdown period in the state to April 30.

"The first notification was issued on March 25 as necessitated by Section 2 of Epidemic Diseases Act and provisions of Disaster Management Act, and was valid till April 14," said an official. "Since there has been no reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases in this period, the lockdown was extended till April 30," he added.

The lockdown was announced by PM Modi on March 24 for three weeks to break the chain of infections. The centre says it was a success, and that the number of coronavirus in India could have been manifolds if the lockdown was not put in place.

PM Modi will address the nation at 10 am on April 14 whether the Centre will extend the coronavirus lockdown or not.