Indian PM to discuss COVID-19 restriction ease with state chief ministers

Source:Xinhua Published: 2020/6/13 22:04:34

Indian commuters wearing protective face masks wait for the bus at a bus stop as the lockdown eases in Mumbai on June 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Stringer)


Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers of all states via video conference next week amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with state Chief Ministers on the 16th and 17th," a brief statement put by Prime Minister's Office on social media on Friday night said.

India is currently going through the fifth phase of the lockdown, which will end on June 30. The ongoing lockdown entails much more relaxations than the previous ones. However, the relaxations do not imply to the containment zones, which officials say need to follow strict guidelines issued by authorities.

According to officials, Modi is likely to hold a fresh round of consultations with chief ministers to chalk out the strategy to help the country to come out of the coronavirus lockdown.

As per the officials, the interaction will be held in two rounds with some on June 16, while with remaining ones on June 17.

This will be the sixth meeting of Modi with the chief ministers since the outbreak of COVID-19. The prime minister had earlier interacted with Chief Ministers five times over the COVID-19 situation via video conferencing.

The government of India had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 and break the chain of infection.

The data released in the morning by India's federal health ministry said the total COVID-19 cases in the country have reached 308,993 including 8,884 deaths.

Posted in: CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA,WORLD FOCUS

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