Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday night hinted at extending the anti-COVID19 lockdown in the state.
The 21-day nationwide lockdown, imposed in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic from March 24 midnight, will expire on Tuesday.
Also read: Centre considering two-week nationwide lockdown extension
In a live briefing through his Facebook page, chief minister Sangma said he had an interaction through video conferencing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and indicated that the lockdown would go beyond April 14.
However, he said livelihood activities would resume in the state by implementing the protocols strictly.
The Meghalaya chief minister also said the State Cabinet will meet on Monday and take a call in this regard.
Prime Minister Modi on Saturday interacted with the chief ministers of all the states via video conferencing to strategize ahead for tackling COVID-19.
This was the third such interaction of the Prime Minister with the chief ministers, the earlier ones had been held on April 2 and March 20, 2020.
The Prime Minister observed that the combined effort of the Centre and the states has definitely helped reduce the impact of COVID-19 but since the situation is rapidly evolving, constant vigilance is paramount.
He emphasized the criticality of coming 3-4 weeks for determining the impact of the steps taken till now to contain the virus, adding that teamwork is the key to facing the challenge.
Talking about the exit plan from lockdown, the PM said there seems to be a consensus amongst the states on extension of Lockdown by another two weeks.
He underlined that the motto of the government earlier was ‘jaan hai to jahaan hai’ but now is ‘jaan bhi jahaan bhi’.
The PM categorically assured that India has adequate supplies of essential medicines and said measures are being taken to ensure availability of protective gear and critical equipment for all front-line workers.
Talking about the economic challenges, the PM said the crisis is an opportunity to become self-reliant and turn the nation into an economic powerhouse.
The chief ministers suggested that lockdown should be extended by two weeks.
They also sought financial and fiscal assistance from the Contre to boost their resources in this fight against the pandemic.
The chief ministers provided feedback about the status of COVID-19 in their respective states, steps taken by them to maintain social distancing, ramp up healthcare infrastructure, mitigate difficulties of migrants and maintain supply of essentials.