Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh decided on Monday to extend the ongoing 21-day lockdown, which was set to end on Tuesday, till April 30 to check the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The Mizoram government took the decision to extend the lockdown after a cabinet meeting and another meeting with political parties, NGOs and officials.
“Lockdown will be extended in the state of Mizoram till 30th of this month i.e. April, 2020. However, area wise moderation will be enforced as per task forces committee regulations,” Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga tweeted.
The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet, too, decided to extend the lockdown till the end of this month with certain exemptions.
“The cabinet has taken a decision to extend the lockdown till April 30. We will take a further decision later on how to handle the situation post April 30,” chief secretary Naresh Kumar told journalists in Itanagar.
He added that activities permitted during the first phase of lockdown will be allowed to operate as usual and all offices in district level will start functioning from April 15.
“Agriculture, horticulture activities and tea gardens will be allowed to operate provided they maintain social distancing and other safety precautions. Some industries will also be allowed to operate on a case to case basis,” Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}“Agriculture, horticulture activities and tea gardens will be allowed to operate provided they maintain social distancing and other safety precautions. Some industries will also be allowed to operate on a case to case basis,” Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}Though the central government has not made public its decision yet, there have been suggestions that the lockdown be extended across. Now, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Tuesday morning.
At a video-conference on Saturday, chief ministers urged PM Modi to extend the lockdown to contain coronavirus. Several states, including Maharashtra and Odisha, have already extended the lockdown till at least the end of the month.