India extends lockdown till May 3

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced earlier that lockdown restrictions will be extended until 3 May. DW correspondent Manira Chaudhary in Delhi says: "Overall, people are in support of this decision. Local leaders with whom Prime Minister Modi was holding discussions over the past one week said they were in favor of the extension even before it was announced today and medical experts are also saying they are in favor of the lockdown being extended."

"But there is a faction of the opposition and critics who are saying that while coronavirus is a big problem, poverty is also a huge problem in the country," Chaudhary adds.

"In the coming few days, we can expect some more guidelines to be reviewed by the government. What we have to remember is that India is a country with a very, very high population density. We have people, living crammed in small areas and slums, where social distancing is not at all possible."

"When the forced lockdown was announced, we saw a modern mass exodus of migrant workers going back to the villages, possibly carrying the virus with them. So many experts are also saying that India has not seen its peak in the number of as yet, and in preparing for that the coming week again will be very important to see things turn around," Chaudhary said in Delhi.