Mizoram, Puducherry, TN, Arunachal extend lockdown till April 30

Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Puducherry on Monday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown till April 30 to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

Odisha, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and West Bengal have already extended the lockdown even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Centre’s stand on this issue on Tuesday.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the move is in accordance with the recommendations made by public health experts. In a statement, the State Government said they had suggested to the Centre that the lockdown be extended in order to avoid the further spread of the infection.

Referring to the meeting of the Chief Ministers of 13 States with the PM on coronavirus, Palaniswami said leaders of several other States favoured extending the lockdown.

The Puducherry Cabinet also approved the decision to extend the lockdown till the month end.  The extension was in line with the decision of neighbouring Tamil Nadu to contain the spread of the infection, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said.