PM suggests staggered lifting of lockdown
Testing, tracing, quarantine focus areas for next few weeks, he says
With the country witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections and deaths in the past few days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested states to lift the ongoing lockdown in a staggered manner when it ends on April 15. He has also indicated a shift from the Centre’s current policy of limited testing for Covid-19, which has killed about 50,000 people around the world.
Interacting with chief ministers via videoconferencing on Thursday, the PM told them that “testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine” should remain the area of focus in the next few weeks to contain coronavirus.
Modi said the Centre and states needed to formulate a common “staggered” exit strategy from the lockdown. He sought suggestions from states on ensuring “a staggered re-emergence of the population” after the end of the 21-day nationwide lockdown. He said Covid-19 had attacked “our faith and belief and is threatening our way of life”.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tweeted, “The PM said the state government should not lift the lockdown immediately from April 15, but it should happen in phases. Precautions should be taken that there is no crowding.”
“The completion of lockdown will end on April 15. But it doesn’t mean free will to move out on the streets. We all must be responsible in slowing down. Lockdown and social distancing are the only way to fight Covid-19,” Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu tweeted, but deleted it minutes later.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share a video message at 9 am today
He said the tweet was uploaded by an officer whose comprehension of Hindi was limited. Several chief ministers sought not only more funds from the Centre to help them combat Covid-19, but also more testing kits, ventilators, and other medical supplies. Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar appealed for relaxing Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) norms by increasing the fiscal deficit limit of gross state domestic product (GSDP). Kumar said it should be increased from 3 to 4 per cent, and pointed that it was increased to 4 per cent in 200910 during the global financial crisis, and in 2010-11, from 3.38 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Palaniswami said this relaxation should be applicable for 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot demanded the Centre release ~1 trillion to all the states to tackle the epidemic and help states cope with financial constraints of the lockdown.
Congress CMS suggested the borrowing limit of states be increased by 2 per cent, and a moratorium on the payment of dues to financial institutions under the Reserve Bank of India.
Punjab’s Amarinder Singh demanded the release of his state’s goods and services tax (GST) share of ~5,000 crore; Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel requested the Centre to release his state’s share of ~2,000 crore; and Palaniswami asked for ~9,000 crore. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee did not attend the meeting.