The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced yesterday to extend the general closure affecting 1.3 billion people, with the aim of curbing the outbreak of the new Corona virus, until the third of May, at least.
This decision comes despite the complaints of millions of poor people who have almost completely become without any support, after losing their businesses and incomes stop.
"Economically, we have paid a heavy price," Moody said yesterday, in a speech to the nation. "But the lives of people in India are much more expensive."
"It seems clear from the experiences of the past few days that the path we have chosen is correct," he added.
The general closure measures imposed on March 25 for three weeks were supposed to be lifted last night.
Moody said that there will be a "limited easing" of the measures from April 20 in the areas where no injuries are recorded, and new directives will be announced for industry and agriculture sectors today.
Relatively speaking, India is still immune from the widespread outbreak of the epidemic, with some 10,000 cases and 339 deaths registered, according to official figures.
Some experts say that India has not done enough checks, and the actual number of injuries is much higher than what has been announced.
However, due to the high population density in some of its cities, it is feared that the injuries will increase significantly, which may lead to the collapse of the health system.
Some states, such as Maharashtra, which includes the densely populated city of Mumbai, and where the largest number of casualties, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, have announced an extension of the closure. Yesterday, the World Health Organization praised India's decision to extend the closure, saying it would "go a long way in stopping the spread of the virus."
India remains untouched by the widespread outbreak of the epidemic, with some 10,000 cases and 339 deaths recorded.