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Covid-19: Centre considering pleas by states to prolong lockdown
The number of Covid-19 cases in India on Tuesday reached 5,305 and 160 have so far died of the highly infectious disease. There is concern that once the lockdown is lifted and free public movement is allowed, it could lead to a spike in the number of cases of the disease, frittering away the gains from the lockdown.
The Centre is considering extending the three-week nationwide lockdown over the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak after some states favoured its enforcement beyond April 14, while also weighing the option of lifting the restrictions in a staggered manner, officials said on Tuesday, when the number of cases in the country crossed 5,000.
Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka have informed New Delhi that the threat of Covid-19 would be easier to handle if the lockdown, which took effect on March 25, remains in force for a longer duration, an official said on condition of anonymity.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, too, have favoured an extension of the lockdown. Even states such as Punjab, which haven’t been as forthcoming, favour maintaining the restrictions, the official added.
The number of Covid-19 cases in India on Tuesday reached 5,305 and 160 have so far died of the highly infectious disease. There is concern that once the lockdown is lifted and free public movement is allowed, it could lead to a spike in the number of cases of the disease, frittering away the gains from the lockdown.
At the same time, however, there are worries that continuing with a strict lockdown could cause long-term damage to the economy -- in terms of personal finance, the administering of states, and business activity in key sectors that are already reeling from the sudden halt in economic activity.
One of the big questions will be lives versus livelihoods, according to Niti Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul, who is also the head of one of the empowered groups on the matter. “We are assessing the cost of the lockdown economically with the lives that need to be saved,” he said.
A decision on what to unlock, and when to unlock it, will also be driven by the numbers and how India stands in terms of the Covid-19 spread towards the end of this week, a second official said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced the lockdown aimed at breaking the chain of infections, halting flights, trains and road transport, shutting all but essential services, and stressed the need for social distancing to be strictly observed to curb the spread of the disease.
On Tuesday, a Group of Ministers led by defence minister Rajnath Singh met at his residence to discuss the various factors that would need to be considered once the lockdown was lifted. “The ministers were very clear that even if the lockdown is lifted, travel restrictions will remain,” said an official.
The meeting is the fourth held by the GoM. Home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended Tuesday’s meeting along with 14 other ministers, who discussed in what form travel should be allowed.
“Trains and buses will not be back to normal,’’ an official aware of the developments said on condition of anonymity. “Air traffic will also be disrupted. The public should expect a slow, staggered return to a new normal.’’
The government was also considering the option of lifting the lockdown only in phases, with those districts where no cases have been reported likely to be the first to see resumption of some services.
One key concern that was flagged in the meeting was that the farm sector is still struggling. The sector has been particularly hit hard by a disruption of the farm-to-fork supply chain in the absence of workers, mainly migrants who have returned home in the aftermath the lockdown, to harvest the winter-sown rabi crops and transport to carry the produce to agricultural markets.
The ministers were briefed that some concessions extended to agriculture were “not filtering down”, another second official said. For instance, on March 28, the government exempted farm work from the lockdown and said that activities such as sowing of crops and harvesting should be allowed, and fertiliser and pesticide shops could stay open. However, more than a week later, it doesn’t seem to have helped. “The labour who would have worked on the fields were too scared and were not going back to work,’’ said this person.
This was an issue that the ministers were hoping to troubleshoot with the home ministry and other officials soon.
In the same way, the lack of labour is also affecting the supply of medicines. While there is no shortage of drugs, said the official, there was a shortage of people to transport them.
The official said the substance of the ministers’ discussion would be conveyed to Prime Minister Modi, who is expected to shortly decide whether or not to extend the lockdown.
Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, when asked about the extension of the lockdown, said at a daily briefing: “The chief secretary has already given a statement. Once a decision is taken on this, we will convey it.”
