India’s nationwide lockdown, the biggest imposed in the world over the coronavirus pandemic, will be extended until at least May 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday.
The three-week lockdown of the nation of 1.3 billion people, which started on March 25 midnight, was scheduled to end on Tuesday midnight.
“From the economic angle, we have paid a big price,” Modi said in a nationwide address. “But the lives of the people of India are far more valuable.”
Modi said some restrictions away from infection hotspots would be eased on April 20 to help poor people dependent upon daily wages.
“Till April 20, each police station, each district, each state will be monitored closely to see whether the lockdown is being followed and if that area has saved itself from the virus,” he said.
South Asian nations have so far been relatively unscathed by the epidemic, with more than 10,000 cases and 339 deaths in India, according to official figures.
But with some of the most crowded cities on the planet, there are fears that numbers could skyrocket and overwhelm shaky healthcare systems.
Some experts have also said India has not conducted enough tests and that the true number of infections is much higher.
Several states, including Maharashtra which has the highest number of cases, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, have already announced lockdown extensions.
