Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, on Monday, convened the virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of States and Union Territories during which he took stock of the situations concerning the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. 

The virtual meeting was the fourth episode of such interaction with the Chief Ministers and it has come amid the raising speculations on whether the nationwide lockdown would be extended beyond the current deadline of May 3 as the country has been aiming to stem the spread of the virus and flattening the curve of the COVID-19 affected cases. 

The meeting has begun at 10 am on Monday and lasted for over three hours paving the way for the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers to held extensive interaction over tackling the human to human transmitting virus and some of the Chief Ministers appealed the Center to extend the lockdown in their respective states beyond May 3 while the rest had asked the Center to pour some relaxations.

Impact of Coronavirus will remain visible in the coming months, masks & face covers will be part of our life: PM Narendra Modi in his video conference meeting with Chief Ministers pic.twitter.com/aEhVdXnuBx

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2020

According to the reports, the Prime Minister said that the collective efforts rolled out by the Center, and the states have been showing effect and the country has been benefitting through the lockdown to combat the spread and he further stated that the impact of Coronavirus will remain visible in the coming months and masks and face covers would be part of the lives and added that the country will have to give importance to the economy without loosening the fight against Coronavirus. The major part of the meeting had gone through the discussions over reviving the ailing economy than to extend the lockdown. 

According to ANI, only nine Chief Ministers - Meghalaya, Haryana, Mizoram, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Gujarat were asked to speak during the meeting while the rest of the Chief Ministers have been advised to disclose their written statements to the Center and the states like Meghalaya, Goa, and Odisha had appealed for the lockdown extension beyond May 3 whereas the other states have asked the Center to award some relaxations on the restrictions to resume the operations of the economical activities. 

However, most of the states have reiterated that the restrictions on interstate travel including air and rail transports should continue. The reports stated that the Center hasn't spelled any fresh directives regarding the lockdown extension and it can be expected when the current lockdown period nears its deadline on May 3. Earlier, the reports stated that the virtual meeting would aim to focus on a gradual exit from the lockdown. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, and top officials from PMO and Health Ministry had attended the meeting. India has been under nationwide lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of Coronavirus and the lockdown has given the first extension on April 14th. According to the Union Health Ministry, India has reported 27,892 cases so far as of Monday morning of which 6,185 patients have been recovered while 872 had succumbed to the virus.

Also read: Shocking report to Modi - Will nationwide lockdown be extended beyond May 3?