India extends coronavirus lockdown for two weeks more with some relaxations

NEW DELHI - India on Friday announced that the coronavirus lockdown would be extended for two weeks beyond May 4, but with some easing of restrictions, including for alcohol.

The lockdown imposed near the end of March has caused misery for millions of workers in India's vast informal sector and dealt a major blow to Asia's third-biggest economy.

@PMOIndia @RailMinIndia @ARanganathan72 @RomeshNadir @Saliltoday @prettypadmaja @bgopu1973 @iamdharmarajan3 @indian_metal @sridhariyer5 @kksubbu2003
Home Ministry allows movement of migrant workers and others by special trains..https://t.co/anCpLRW5QM
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— Essen (@appan19491011) May 1, 2020

The home ministry said in a statement that in view of "significant gains in the COVID-19 situation", areas with few or no cases would see "considerable relaxations".

Air travel and passenger trains ground to a halt because of the lockdown and only the transport of "essential goods" was allowed, causing major problems as well as considerable confusion for industry and agriculture.

However, the stringent restrictions have been credited with keeping confirmed cases of coronavirus to about 35,000 cases as of Friday, with 1,152 deaths.