Full Lockdown in Districts Reporting High Cases Should Continue For 6-8 Weeks, Says ICMR
India Lockdown News Today May 13, 2021: ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava said lockdown restrictions should remain in place in all districts where the rate of infection is above 10% of those tested.
The ICMR said that full lockdown in most districts should continue. (Representational Image)
New Delhi: At a time when most of the states across the country have imposed full lockdown to contain the second wave of coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that districts reporting a high number of Covid-19 infections should remain locked down for another six to eight weeks to control the spread of the infection.
According to a report by news agency Reuters, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava said lockdown restrictions should remain in place in all districts where the rate of infection is above 10% of those tested.
As per latest updates, three-fourths of India's 718 districts have a test-positivity rate above 10%, including major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and the tech hub of Bengaluru.
Notably, Bhargava's statement has highlighted for the first time that how long lockdowns, which have already been there in large parts of the country, need to continue to contain the spread of the virus.
However, the Central government has been reluctant to impose a nationwide lockdown looking at the economic aspect of it. However, the Centre has left it to the state government to take the final decision.
Going by the guidelines of the Centre, a number of states have imposed full lockdown on economic activity and public movement to stop the spread of the virus, which are now being reviewed and extended on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
In another development, PM Modi will interact with district magistrates of 100 districts with high caseloads of COVID-19 infections in two meetings on May 18 and 20. While DMs of 46 districts from nine states will be part of the first meeting, those from 54 districts from 10 states will attend the second meeting. Notably, the respective chief ministers will be present in these interactions.
Interestingly, this will be the first such interaction that the prime minister will have with top district-level administrative officers on the COVID-19 situation.
On Thursday, India added 3,62,727 new coronavirus infections in a day taking the COVID-19 tally of cases to 2,37,03,665, while the death toll rose to 2,58,317 with 4,120 daily fatalities.
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