Shimla: Lockdown in the state of Himachal Pradesh has been extended till May 31 in wake of the growing coronavirus cases. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on coronavirus lockdown said after the Centre’s guidelines for lockdown 4.0 were announced. Himachal Pradesh has followed Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in becoming the fouth state to extend restrictions till May 31. 
In a video statement, Thakur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had decided to extend the lockdown beyond May 17 after talking to chief ministers of various states. Noting that coronavirus cases had increased after the return of stranded people from other states, the chief minister said that the number of cases may rise further as about 60,000 more people had expressed their wish to come back to Himachal Pradesh. At the same time, he said ‘”there is no need to worry”. Himachal Pradesh is still better than other states,” he said and urged the returnees to follow quarantine norms whether they were being kept in any institution or at home. He said the curfew will remain imposed till May 31 to check the spread of coronavirus.