Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a video conference with Chief Ministers of different states and Union Territories on 16-17 June about the future of lockdown and the current situation of the pandemic. The announcement has come as confirmed Covid cases in India near the 3 lakh mark.
All states and UTs are divided into two groups and two days are dedicated so that the Prime Minister can listen to all the Chief Ministers, say official sources. Sources also add that Delhi, which has been witnessing a sudden spike in numbers, will feature on the second day. There have been at least five such interactions so far with the fifth one taking place on May 11. It was this virtual interaction where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in a fiery mood. That interaction took place ahead of the expiry of lockdown 3.0 which was to end on 17 May.
These interactions will be PM Modi’s sixth round of consultations with chief ministers and Lt Governors of various states and UTs. The most recent being on 11 May.
India has 1,41,842 active Covid-19 cases and 8,498 deaths, as of Friday evening. With lockdown 5.0, which is widely touted as Unlock 1.0, kicking in, the Covid numbers in many states have rapidly started to spike, which has become a cause of concern for the Centre as well as the states. Already, Central teams are being deputed to provide technical support and handhold the state Health Departments and municipal health officials in reviewing steps being taken to tackle Covid-19 in six key metros — Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The lockdown, enforced on 25 March, was originally supposed to end on 14 April. It was then extended to 3 May, and then again to 17 May. Lockdown 5.0 will come to an end on 30 June. With agency inputs