UK set to extend COVID-19 lockdown till May
The Boris Johnson government is expected to announce on Thursday a decision to extend its nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak until early May. The nationwide lockdown was announced on March 23. Health secretary Matt Hancock had said it was "too early to make changes" to the current restrictions.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Johnson, will convene a meeting of ministers on Thursday to formalise a decision on the lockdown.
On Wednesday, Northern Ireland extended its lockdown restrictions for a further three weeks. The UK reported 761 coronavirus deaths on Wednesday and the total toll is at 12,868.
G7 to discuss COVID-19 response
Leaders of G7 nations will discuss international coordination on the COVID-19 pandemic in a videoconference on Thursday. The meeting was convened at the request of US President Donald Trump.
"Working together, the G7 is taking a whole-of-society approach to tackle the crisis across multiple areas, including health, finance, humanitarian assistance and science and technology," White House spokesman Judd Deere said. The G7 summit was originally scheduled to be held near Washington in June.
The G7 is made up of UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, which this year holds the group's presidency.
Kerala cabinet to decide on post-April 20 relaxations
The Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala will hold a cabinet meeting on Thursday to decide on the sectors in which the lockdown restrictions can be relaxed after April 20. During his speech announcing the extension of the nationwide lockdown until May 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated states can decide on relaxing restrictions in specific sectors in areas where occurrence of COVID-19 cases has been low or absent.
In the past week, Kerala has seen a steady fall in the number of new coronavirus cases being reported in the state.
DMK to meet allies
The DMK, the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, will hold a videoconference of its allies on Thursday. The DMK had announced a meeting with the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak. The party had initially sought permission to hold the meeting on Wednesday, but its request was denied by police.
DMK chief M.K. Stalin said "the AIADMK government has made the police department to issue a notice directing that the meeting should not be held," in view of the lockdown.
Sports ministry to meet federations
The sports ministry will reach out to 11 national federations on Thursday via videoconference for a possible discussion on the future course of action as sporting activities have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sports Secretary Radheyshyam Julaniya will address two representatives each from the 11 federations invited for a meeting. The ministry, in the first batch, will address federations that are managing 'priority' disciplines. NSFs invited in the first batch are Handball, Basketball, Volleyball, Wushu, Tennis, Squash, Special Olympic Bharat, Yachting, Kayaking and Canoeing, Kabaddi and All India University (AIU).
Kharif crop conference
The agriculture ministry is scheduled to hold on Thursday a national conference via videoconferencing to firm up preparations for the Kharif (summer sowing) season. Kharif sowing begins with the onset of the June-September south-west monsoon. Normally, about 106 million hectares are planted during the Kharif crop season. While the onset of monsoon kick-starts sowing in June, which continues through mid-July, harvesting of crops begins by October.
The state and Central governments have announced various exemptions to the lockdown to allow farmers to prepare for the upcoming Kharif season.