The Narendra Modi government on Saturday extended the national lockdown by two weeks, according to Times Now TV news channel.
The lockdown, effective 25 March, was to end 14 April. The decision comes after Modi and chief ministers of various states met over a video conference call for more than five hours.
Fears of a community transmission of the coronavirus happening in some parts of the country, exemplified by a continuous rise in number of fresh cases daily, would have led to the government taking the decision.
Odisha and Punjab had declared an extension of the lockdown Friday itself. Many other chief ministers, both from the opposition side as well Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) favoured the extension.