NEW DELHI: At least 10 chief ministers of states including Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, have asked for the lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic to be extended during a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. "I am available 24x7. Any chief minister can speak to me and give suggestions (on COVID-19) anytime. We should stand together shoulder-to-shoulder," PM Modi assured the chief ministers, his face partly covered with a cotton scarf, acting as a homemade mask.

PM Modi took feedback from the chief ministers on whether the three-week lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus should end on Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic has killed 239 and infected over 7,400 in India.

"The decision to continue the lockdown should be taken on a national level," Mr Kejriwal said. "If the states decide the length of the lockdown on their own, then the fight against the coronavirus won't be effective," said the Chief Minister of Delhi, from where the third-highest number of coronavirus infection has been reported, after Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. "If the lockdown is eased, all kinds of transport, either rail or road, should not be allowed," Kejriwal said.

The Health Ministry gave a presentation during the video conference. Then one by one the chief ministers spoke with PM Modi. Many of them suggested that the lockdown should be uniformly enforced across the country to maximise its effectiveness, instead of states taking a call on their own.

Courtesy: NDTV