Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Lockdown is like pause button, not a solution to COVID-19, says Rahul Gandhi

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tracker Live Updates: The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 12,380 on Thursday, including 10,477 active cases, 414 deaths and 1,488 recoveries. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with over 3,000 cases now and 295 deaths. The government has identified 170 districts across the country as COVID-19 ‘hotspots’ or ‘red zones’, and another 207 districts as ‘potential hotspots’.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed the media via a video-conference at 1 pm. He said the government’s decision to impose a nationwire lockdown was like “a pause button”, and would not help in solving the crisis. He advised the government to scale up testing, and called for a decentralisation strategy, in which chief ministers had more say as the fight against COVID-19 was at a state and district level.

With the lockdown extended till May 3 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced lockdown relaxation from April 20 on a range of activities in the rural and agriculture sector, manufacturing in SEZs and industrial zones, and in e-commerce. Strict restrictions will, however, continue in COVID-19 containment zones notified by the respective states.

Globally, the total number of COVID-19 cases has crossed 2 million, including over 136,000 fatalities, with Europe accounting for more than two-thirds of the deaths. Europe has reported 88,716 deaths, while the United States has the single highest toll at 26,950, followed by Italy (21,645), Spain (18,579) and France (17,167).

INDIAN EXPRESS