Punjab on Friday extended the coronavirus lockdown till May 1st.
The state has so far recorded over a 100 cases, and rumours have been circulating for the past few days regarding a possible extension. Punjab becomes the second state to officially announce an extension after Odisha.
Earlier on Friday, during a press conference, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said that the state had entered the community transmission stage.
"In Punjab, 27 cases are there with no travel history. Yes, it can be said that most of them are cases of community transmission," he had said.
This claim has however been countered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Responding to a question, Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal said that there is no community transmission in the country yet and there is no need to panic.
""Today, the challenge is not local or community transmission. Whenever the community transmission stage comes, we will inform you. There is no community transmission in the country yet. There is no need to panic," Aggarwal said.
Apart from Punjab and Odisha, several other states are contemplating an extension. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier recommended an extension of the lockdown till April 30, as had Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Reportedly Maharashtra too is mulling an extension -- at least for parts of the state. The western state has recorded the highest number of positive cases, clocking in at 1364 as of Friday evening.
