Centre considering request from most states to extend lockdown by 2 weeks: Govt sources

The Centre is considering a request made by most states to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown by two more weeks beyond April 14, government sources said on Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with chief ministers.

"Most states requested to extend the lockdown by two weeks and the Centre is considering the request," a government source said.

During the video conference with Modi, several chief ministers including Punjab's Amarinder Singh and Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal had suggested extending the lockdown at least by a fortnight.

The ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 crisis, announced by Modi on March 24, is scheduled to end on April 14.

Modi, accompanied by some senior officials, including from the Union health ministry, was wearing a white mask during the meeting which was also attended by chief ministers -- Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Manohar Lal (Haryana), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Nitish kumar (Bihar).