New Delhi: With the deadline for lockdown4 speedily approaching, the Prime Minister’s Office is busy reviewing the entire 60-day lockdown period. The Home Ministry is crunching data that would help decide the strategy from June 1. Going by the demands of the states and the condition of economy, the centre had given considerable relaxations the last time it announced a two-week extension of the lockdown earlier this month. The final decision had been left to the states. In the days that followed, it also reopened the domestic aviation sector, starting flights to and from several select cities.
The last time, the centre had based its decisions on a detailed wishlist from the states following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual meet with Chief Ministers, and an assessment of the ground situation from the Home Ministry.
This time, it is also concerned about the numbers which have almost doubled in the last 12 days, both in terms of COVID positive cases and quarantine.
“Ultimately, it would be a political call on whether to continue with the National Disaster Management Act or allow the states have a final call as to how they want to proceed from June 1,” an official in the Home Ministry said. The imposition of the National Disaster Management Act has empowered the centre to take all the decisions regarding health, which is a state subject.
The government has been concerned about criticism coming its way from the opposition parties regarding its strategy to counter coronavirus. Even Chief Ministers have been extremely vocal against the government’s policies. Together, it has pushed the centre to change its stance on many occasions over the last 64 days.
Data being processed by government that was accessed by NDTV reveals that till May 26, the country had as many as 1,47,284 coronavirus cases. The big concern, though, are the 22,81,250 people who are in quarantine facilities in different states and Union Territories.
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