Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said the nationwide lockdown will end on April 15, soon after he participated in a teleconference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but deleted the tweet minutes later, blaming it on an officer handling his Twitter account whose comprehension of Hindi was 'limited'.
Modi chaired a meeting with the chief ministers of different states to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.
'Completion of lockdown will end on April 15 next. But it doesnt mean free will to move out on streets. We all must be responsible in slowing down. Lockdown and social distancing in (sic) the only way to fight #COVID19,' he had tweeted.
He deleted it minutes later and clarified, 'The tweet with respect of lockdown period was uploaded by an officer whose comprehension in Hindi was limited. And therefore same was removed.'
Speculation was rife that the nationwide shutdown might be extended beyond April 15, especially after the exponential jump in the number of coronavirus cases following the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the national capital.
Khandu also indicated that some restrictions will remain in place.
'May not #21daysLockdownIndia go waste. Even after lockdown, follow corona prevention safety measures like wearing mask, cleanliness, distancing etc. Being responsible will save us,' he wrote in another tweet.
Tagging the Prime Minister, Khandu further said it was time to leverage technology to fight coronavirus and not compete to announce packages.
'It is for all of us to be realistic and practical. The fight could go for any length and we cant predict how things will turn,' he wrote.
He said it is a war which cannot be left for health workers, policemen or the government alone to fight and that the situation warrants that people of all different ideologies unite to defeat the enemy of the mankind.
'War has just began (sic) now. We can never be contended (sic). Let us no mistake (sic). Every 24 hours we must be alert; unitedly, we must fight to defeat the outbreak of #COVID19,' Khandu said in another tweet.
He also thanked the Prime Minister for his 'exemplary leadership' in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.