After Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu extend lockdown till May 31 with relaxations

Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have become one of the first states to extend lockdown till May 31.

As the number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra cross 30,000 mark, the state government has announced the extension of lockdown till May 31. The extension comes on the last day of lockdown 3.0 today as the people wait for revised guidelines from centre on lockdown extension. The order issued by Maharashtra government reads that Maharashtra is threatened with the spread of COVID-19 and it is important to extend the lockdown in the entire state of Maharashtra further till midnight of May 31st, 2020.

The order also mentions that the calibrated phase wise relaxations/lifting of lockdown orders will be notified soon. It is to be noted that Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected coronavirus state in the country. Of the 30,706 confirmed cases, there are 7088 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 1135 deaths.

In his letter to PM Modi, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray recommended that the lockdown should be extended till May 31 but also requested for resumption of local trains in the state for people in essential services. He said that people should be allowed to board the trains on the basis of their identity cards.

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Tamil Nadu has also decided to extend the lockdown till May 31. There are 10,585 confirmed cases, 3538 cured/recovered/migrated cases and 74 death cases in the state.

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Before Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the Punjab government  had announced the extension of lockdown till May 31 on Saturday. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh said that the curfew will be lifted in Punjab on May 18th but lockdown will continue. The state will follow the strategy of containment and non-containment zones.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India is now at 90927 cases, including 53,946 active cases, 34,109 cured/discharged/migrated and 2872 deaths. In the last 24 hours, India has witnessed its highest ever spike of 4987 cases and 120 deaths.

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