The Punjab government on Friday announced that the lockdown in the state to slow down the spread of coronavirus will be extended till May 1. Punjab has become the second state after Odisha to extend the 21-day lockdown which was supposed to end after April 14.

“Punjab Cabinet led by Captain Amarinder Singh decides to extend lockdown/curfew in the state till May1, 2020,” a tweet from the chief minister’s account read. “The decision to extend the curfew is aimed at checking community spread of Covid-19 and to prevent overcrowding at Mandis in the light of ensuing wheat procurement.”

Earlier in the day, Singh had said that coronavirus has reached the community transmission phase in Punjab. He had also said that predictions by experts about the spread of the disease were “horrendous and frightening”. During the daily press briefing, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, however, denied that there was community transmission of the disease in India.

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Punjab has 132 cases of the coronavirus, including 11 deaths, according to the Union health ministry’s Friday evening update.

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Also read:

  1. Covid-19: Experts say India’s cases will peak in September, warns Punjab CM
  2. Odisha educational institutions to remain closed until June 17th; lockdown extended until April 30th
  3. Covid-19:PM to meet chief ministers tomorrow to take a call on extending lockdown, say reports

On Thursday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that the lockdown in his state will be extended till April 30.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to take a call on extending the nationwide lockdown after a meeting the chief ministers on Saturday. In his previous meeting with the chief ministers, Modi had asked them to provide a “common exit strategy” on lifting the lockdown in a staggered manner.

According to the health ministry’s Friday evening update, there are 6,761 cases of coronavirus in India and 206 people have died. With 1,364 cases, Maharashtra is the worst-affected state. This is followed by Delhi where 898 cases have been reported.