India extends lockdown by 2 weeks

India's nationwide coronavirus lockdown will be extended by two more weeks after May 4, the government said on Friday, noting significant gains from the six-week shutdown in India's fight to slow the spread of COVID-19, reports NDTV.

Extending the lockdown for the second time, the home ministry announced new guidelines based on the demarcation of the country into red zones with "significant risk of spread of the infection"; green zones with either zero cases or no confirmed cases in the past 21 days; and those in between as orange. 

While some curbs will apply across the country, there will be considerable relaxations in districts in green and orange zones to revive economic activity that has been stalled during the tough restrictions in place since March 25. 

The government said the stringent restrictions have kept coronavirus cases to a relatively low 35,365 as of Friday, with 1,152 deaths. 

No activity except most essential will be allowed in containment zones. The biggest and most economically-important cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad, all marked red zones, will stay under strict lockdown.