Lockdown and containment measures are important to fight COVID19: Health Ministry

"If we had not taken any measures then we might have had 2 lakh cases at this time,"  Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, said while addressin a press conference.

"India’s response to COVID19 has been proactive. We have followed a graded approach," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a big announcement over the extension of anti-Novel Coronavirus lockdown soon as several states have urged the Centre to continue with the imposed restrictions for few more weeks to stem the spread of COVID-19.

After the conclusion of the meeting on Saturday, Modi reportedly told the state Chief Ministers that he felt the extension of lockdown is necessary for few more weeks.

"I am available 24/7," Modi told the Chief Ministers as media reported.

Hinting at a possible extension of the lockdown, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following the meeting with Modi tweeted, "PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is imp to extend it."

Almost all states except Madhya Pradesh have asked the Prime Minister to extend the 21-day nationwide lockdown which is due to end on Apr 14 midnight.

However, the states are also considering the massive impact on economy as the business in close to the last three weeks went for a toss leading the daily wagers to suffer.

In West Bengal, which is the eastern state of the country, small traders missed the opportunity to earn big during an annual sale period (known as Chaitra Sale) ahead of the Bengali New Year as the entire business is under lockdown since Mar 25.

Despite the economic losses, Odisha and Punjab have already increased the shutdown period by few more weeks.

While Odisha extended the lockdown till Apr 31, restrictions will continue in Punjab till May 1.

As per the government data, 7,447 people including 643 cured and 239 deceased have been infected with Maharashtra registering the highest number of cases (1574) followed by Tamil Nadu (911) and the national capital Delhi (903).