Modi extends India's lockdown till May 3

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in his third address to the nation in less than a month extended the lockdown till May 3 and said any decision on easing restrictions in parts of the country would be taken after April 20, to keep in mind the difficulties of the poor.

"After taking into account all suggestions, we have decided to extend the lockdown till May 3," PM Modi said in his 22-minute address, reorted NDTV.

Ahead of Modi's speech, several states including Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal have already extended the lockdown till April 30 to break the chain of Covid-19 infections in the country, reported Hindustan Times.

"Till April 20, each district, each state will be monitored closely to see whether the lockdown is being followed. Then we can decide on relaxing the restrictions," said the Prime Minister.

The number of Covid-19 infected people in India has climbed to 10,363 and the death has touched 339, according to latest figures released by the Union ministry of health on Tuesday morning. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called the coronavirus disease, which has flu like symptoms, 10 times more deadly than swine flu, also called H1N1, which caused a global pandemic in 2009.

With coronavirus surpassing two million across the globe, many countries across the world have also extended their lockdown period.