Anil Virgil, health minister of the northern Indian state of Haryana, announced late on May 9th that the government had decided to extend the current blockade for a week until the 17th of this month in an effort to stem the spread of the epidemic, following a surge in new confirmed cases of pandemic in the state.
Unlike the previous round of blockades, Mr Anil said, the current blockade would be more stringent and the maximum number of weddings and funerals would be severely capped during the blockade.
Earlier, parts of Haryana state imposed a weekend blockade from 10 p.m. on 30 April, followed by a week-long blockade on 3 May.
According to data released by the Ministry of Health of India, as of May 9, 13,548 new confirmed cases of coronavirus pandemic had been confirmed in Haryana, with a cumulative total of more than 615,000 confirmed cases.
