Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to extend the nationwide lockdown till May 3 due to coronavirus scare. “A six-week nationwide lockdown to facilitate effective physical distancing, coupled with an expansion of core public health measures, will benefit India in combating the novel coronavirus,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for South-East Asia of the World Health Organization.
“The WHO commends India’s timely and tough actions to stop COVID-19. It may be early to talk about the results in numbers. About a six-week nationwide lockdown to facilitate effective physical distancing, coupled with expansion of core public health measures such as detection, isolation and tracing contact of COVID-19 positive people would go a long way in arresting the virus spread,” she said in a statement.