India / Govt extends COVID-19 containment measures in the country till June 30

New Delhi: The Union home ministry on Thursday extended the nationwide Covid-19 restrictions, put in place after its April 29 order, till June 30. The ministry said the restrictions are necessary to keep a check on the spread of the infection.

"The strict implementation of containment and other measures has led to a declining trend in the number of new and active cases, across States & UTs, barring some areas in the Southern and North-Eastern regions," the order by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla said.

"I would like to highlight that in spite of the declining trend, the number of active cases presently is still very high. It is, therefore, important that containment measures may continue to be implemented strictly. Any relaxation by States/UTs, may be considered at an appropriate time, in a graded manner, after assessing the local situation, requirements and resources," the order further said.

The home secretary asked states to work on strategy to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases.

In the April 29 order, the MHA directed the states and Union territories to go for intensive and local containment measures in districts with a high number of Covid-19 cases to check the spread of the viral disease.

It asked the states and Union territories to identify the districts Covid positivity rate was more than 10 per cent in the last one week.

The MHA also asked the states to consider the containment measures, as conveyed in an advisory issued by the Union health ministry for immediate implementation based on an assessment of the situation.

The health ministry said on Thursday that the second wave of Covid-19 is on the "downswing" in the country. It, however, highlighted that the current number of active cases is "still very high".

NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul told a news conference here that the country continues to witness the stabilisation of the second wave in most parts, both by the number of cases and positivity rate, and despite a sustained and high overall testing coverage which is “reassuring”.