India extended its lockdown on Sunday to curb the spread of coronavirus to May 31, as cases exceeded 90,000 and further clashes erupted between police and stranded migrants.
The NDMA, responsible for setting policy on the lockdown, made its request in a letter to India’s interior ministry which was approved by the government.
According to the new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for lockdown 4.0, states and Union Territories have been given powers to specify the Red, Green and Orange Zones as the coronavirus situation demands. Furthermore, inter-state movement of passenger vehicles, buses have been allowed with the mutual consent of states.
India has now reported more cases than China, where the virus first emerged late last year, although its number of deaths so far, at 2,872, is much lower than China’s 4,600. The death toll in the United States and some European countries is much higher, Reuters reported.
India’s current lockdown, introduced on March 25 and extended several times, is due to expire at midnight on Sunday. The curbs have sparked a crisis for the hundreds of millions of Indians who rely on daily wages to survive.
