Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that there may be an extension of the lockdown after April 14th and Telangana CM KCR also suggested PM Modi not to lift the lockdown as the COVID-19 spread has reached stage-3 in the country. Maharashtra has 1000+ Corona positive cases where the Telangana is approaching the 500 mark.
On the other side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling each and every Chief Minster in the country for suggestions on how to tackle this situation if the lockdown gets lifted. One thing is clear that W.H.O didn’t release any protocol for the implementation of lockdown and there is no particular period or span to impose the lockdown as mandatory.
In the U.S thousands of cases are being reported daily and still, there is no complete lockdown in the county. So, it is quite clear that the decision of the lockdown is up to the country. As we can see, KCR’s point about the extension of the lockdown is very straight. He is saying that if the lockdown gets lifted, the control we had in these 21 days would go in vain. He is showing the BCG report to support his statement which has certain limitations.
The Boston Consultancy group submitted its report on March 25th and after this Markaz thing came into light. So, the things turned different in the last 10 days and we can’t depend on that report anymore. KCR himself said that Telangana is going to be okay on April 1st week but the cases increased exponentially in the last 7 days. The same is the BCG report on which we can’t depend.
The BCG report also said that in Summer, there will be high temperatures and the COVID spread would be limited as it has undergone mutations and couldn’t survive the heat. The same report estimated that the numbers cases would go to peak by June 3rd. If we consult another group they will give another report within hours which would be quite contrary to BCG.
The center has a different plan which seems much logical and reasonable. In a country like India which is densely populated, the number of active cases hasn’t reached 5000 yet even after the Tabliji Jamaat disaster. The majority of the reported are old ones and the remaining are the ones that are being reported after the incubation period is over.
In this scenario, there will be a clear picture by May 7th or 8th and then the government can take a decision considering the situation. So, the lockdown may get lifted and a clear set of instructions may be issued that can still maintain social distancing. It is absurd that the Centre may extend the lockdown till June 3 and is more absurd to think that the centre takes a decision considering the inconsistent BCG report.