Coronavirus in India: Telangana CM KCR urges PM Modi to extend lockdown by two weeks

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider extending the nationwide 21-day lockdown period that officially ends on April 15.

He recommended that the lockdown be extended for two additional weeks, saying that the situation will become uncontrollable if the lockdown is hastily lifted.

"The lockdown is the reason the country is saved and has seen very few cases. A country like India has to be careful otherwise it will become uncontrollable. We have no other choice except to obey the lockdown. At least we are not seeing deaths like Italy, Spain and the US," KCR said during a media interaction.

"Lockdown must be continued. I said the same to Prime Minister Modi. If we unlock the lockdown now, we cannot control the situation," he said.

Referring to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, he said the study had looked at the global scenario in the context of coronavirus and suggested extension of lockdown in different countries accordingly. For India, the agency had suggested an extension of lockdown till June 3.

On Monday, Telangana reported 30 new coronavirus positive cases, taking tally to 308. So far, the state has reported 11 deaths, while 45 patients have been cured. According to the state government, "till date there is no evidence of community transmission in Telangana". It added that the "containment activity has been conducted in all the districts where the positive cases are reported."

It says that there are six diagnostic labs functioning 24*7 and the "travellers and their contacts of Markaz, Delhi are being tracked, tested and treated for COVID-19."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a countrywide lockdown for a period of 3 weeks, starting March 25 till April 14, to control the spread of coronavirus.

So far, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 4,281 today, which include 3,851 active cases and 111 deaths, according to latest data released by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

Also Read: Coronavirus crisis: Govt could extend lockdown till Sept, claims BCG report