Breaking: PM Modi to Address Nation Tomorrow at 10 AM on Lockdown Issue

New Delhi, April 13, 2020:

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, will address the nation tomorrow at 10 am. The PM's address will bear extra significance as it will be the last day of the 21-day lockdown that was imposed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Chief Ministers of the states are said to be in favour of extending the lockdown as the number of cases has skyrocketed past 9,000. PM Modi had earlier said that there is a need to preserve livelihoods as well as lives amid the pandemic spread.

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In a 4-hour meeting that was held in April 11 between the PM and CMs, Modi had said, Jaan bhi, jahaan bhi (life also, livelihood also). The Indian economy, it may be recalled, was moving at a sluggish pace. Now, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to make a further dent in the already-ailing economy and thousands are expected to lose their jobs. Speculations are rife that the administration will try to get the economy going in a "graded-manner."

Meanwhile, there have been murmurs that a colour-coding system could be put in place to identify the corona-prone areas in the country. The areas could be marked as red, orange and green zones, depending upon the number of cases. The areas with no cases of the coronavirus will be placed under 'green zone', if this system is implemented.

Now, all eyes will be on the Prime Minister and his address tomorrow as the nation seeks the answers to these issues.

It is also believed that the Government could make some measures such as social distancing and usage of masks mandatory, while easing some of the other restrictions that are in place.

It is pertinent to mention here that New Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who is in favour of a lockdown extension, had hinted that the PM had acquiesced to the demand to extend the lockdown. In a tweet, the Delhi CM had written, "PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India's position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it."

Meanwhile, Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab have already extended the lockdown period till April 30.

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In India, there are 9,152 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 308 deaths. Internationally, 1.14 lakh people people have died due to complications from the disease, with the United States being the hardest-hit.

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