India’s 21-day lockdown is set to end next week but several state leaders have called for an extension or only a partial lifting of restrictions, saying it is the only way to avoid a coronavirus epidemic that will be difficult to tackle.

“I am for the lockdown of the country further more after April 15. Because, we can recover from the economic problem. But, we cannot get back lives,” Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters.

India has so far escaped a big surge in cases after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked its 1.3 billion people to stay indoors in the world’s biggest lockdown last month that authorities have enforced tightly.

Read the full Reuters story here.

Opinion

Editorial

Lull in fighting
Updated 28 Jul, 2026

Lull in fighting

AFTER two weeks of escalating violence, the US has halted its strikes on Iran, with Tehran also silencing it guns....
Water policy
28 Jul, 2026

Water policy

THE country is caught in a crisis where there too much water at the wrong time and too little when it is most ...
Ending hepatitis
28 Jul, 2026

Ending hepatitis

WORLD Hepatitis Day is being observed under the theme ‘Hepatitis: Let’s break it down’, a call to remove the...
Writing on the wall
27 Jul, 2026

Writing on the wall

EVERY few months, another set of figures reminds Pakistan of a painful reality. Sahil’s latest Six Months Cruel...
Still unprepared
27 Jul, 2026

Still unprepared

EVEN as Pakistan counts around 100 deaths since the onset of the monsoon season on June 26, it is bracing for ...
Delayed devolution
27 Jul, 2026

Delayed devolution

THE debate over Islamabad’s reluctance to fully let go of devolved subjects has been running since 2010. But it ...