New Delhi: The Centre is likely to extend the lockdown by another two weeks after May 31 albeit with lower restrictions.
News18 reported that a top government source described the next phase as “lockdown extension in spirit”, and said the focus will be on the 11 cities where chunk (70 per cent) of COVID-19 cases are in India.
The cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, as well as Pune, Thane, Jaipur, Surat and Indore. Currently, the total number of corona cases in the country has crossed 1.5 lakh with 4,337 deaths so far. The number of new cases has doubled in the last 14 days.
There is pressure on the government as despite a two-month lockdown the curve has not flattened yet.
States will likely be given more decision-making capacity during ‘Lockdown 5.0’. Religious places of worship and gyms may be allowed to reopen. Malls, cinema halls, educational institutions are, however, likely to remain closed.