Coronavirus – Why lockdown has been extended till May 3 and not April 30 as expected

New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning announced an extension of the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic till May 3, a question cropped up in everyone’s mind – why May 3? The lockdown extension period is neither two weeks nor three weeks – it falls in between at 19 days.

The initial lockdown, which started on March 25 and was due to end tonight, was announced for full three weeks or 21 days.

The difference in the lockdown period led to people asking as to why the measure has been extended for 19 days and not 14 or 21 days. The answer lies in the details.

April 30 was the date which had been floating around for lockdown extension ever since the PM held video conferences with state chief ministers and floor leaders of political parties in Parliament. Many states including Maharashtra and Odisha had earlier announced an extension in the lockdown period till April 30 to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, PM Modi today announced that the lockdown is being extended till May 3. As per government sources, this is because the first three days of May are holidays and it made sense to extend the lockdown till May 3 rather than April 30. It may be noted that 1st May is a public holiday, 2nd May is a Saturday and 3rd May is a Sunday.

During his address to the nation – third on the coronavirus outbreak – PM Modi said that the lockdown, which started on March 25, has led to significant gains in containing the infection that has killed over one lakh people across the globe.

PM Modi said during his nearly 25-minute speech that the lockdown will be strictly implemented in the second phase. He added that detailed guidelines will be released by the government tomorrow to ensure that infection does not spread to new areas.

PM Modi said that some relaxations may be allowed in the lockdown after April 20 in places where there are no hotspots. Till April 20, there will be strict monitoring of the entire country for taking a call on easing of the lockdown, he stated.

“Till April 20, every town, every police station, every district, every state will be tested on how much they are adhering to the lockdown; how much the areas have protected themselves from coronavirus. It will be observed.

“Some necessary activities may be allowed in areas that will pass this litmus test; areas which will not be among the hotspots and are less likely to turn into hotspots,” he said.

“Follow the rules of lockdown with full devotion till May 3, stay where you are, stay safe,” the prime minister told the citizens.

“If India would not have adopted a holistic approach, if an integrated approach was not initiated, India’s situation would have been different (compared to many developed countries). It is clear from the experiences of the past few days that the path we have chosen is right,” the prime minister added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story and may not have modified or edited by Quickclarity news)

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