India will remain under an extended lockdown till May 3 to contain the spread of Coronavirus, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in his fourth address to the nation since the pandemic became a cause for serious concern in the country.

He added that social distancing is the only way to pass the “agni pariksha”.

The Prime Minister, however, said the shutdown will be enforced with more strict nature and all states will be evaluated on their performance in containing the outbreak. If any state or its any district is found satisfactory, certain areas may be given conditional reprieve from April 20.

It was widely speculated that PM Modi will extend the emergency protocol until at least the end of April and move in a limited way to restart the economy by selectively easing curbs on industry.

Announcing the extension of the lockdown, PM Modi said that though India has had to bear a heavy loss in terms of economy, the lives of the citizens of the country are more important.

The Prime Minister said that hotspots will see enhanced lockdown measures. “We must ensure that new hotspots do not spring up. Hotspots will see enhanced lockdown measures. For this, the nation will face stricter lockdown measures till April 20.”

The Government will issue a detailed guideline on Wednesday about the do’s and don’ts during the extended period. From April 20, the restricted movement has been discussed keeping in mind poor people’s economic shortcomings, the Prime Minister said.

He added that easing the difficulty of poor people and farmers is among his top priorities.

PM Modi also listed out seven instructions-cum-precautions to deal with the coronavirus situation in the country, the first being taking care of older members in the family and second being continuing to maintain social distance.

The other instructions are: Following guidelines issued by Ayush ministry, downloading Aarogya Setu application, helping the needy, showing empathy towards employees by not terminating their services and respecting doctors, nurses and those at the frontline of the fight against Coronavirus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his address by thanking the nation for the collective fight against Coronavirus despite all the hardships that the people, especially migrant workers, have been facing. He compared the collective efforts to that of a disciplined soldier.

As the nation pays tribute to the architect of the Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary today, PM Modi said, “Our resolve to fight the pandemic is true tribute to Baba Saheb Ambedkar”.

He added that the “country has shown ‘we the people of india’ spirit during lockdown”.

“You people have helped save the nation. I am aware of the challenges you all are facing. Some of you are away from home, others are finding it difficult in getting food, essentials. I bow to all of you.”

The Prime Minister further in his address stressed the importance of social distancing and lockdown saying that India has benefited from these containment measures.

“India didn’t wait for the crisis to aggravate. Many developed nations are facing challenges in fighting against the spread… statistics are a proof,” he said.

“Even when India did not have a single corona patient, India had begun screening passengers from COVID-19 affected countries,” he added.

“Even before COVID-19 cases touched 100, India made it compulsory for foreign returnees to remain in 14 days isolation. We imposed a 21-day lockdown when we had 550 cases,” the PM further said.

The Prime Minister, in his address, further said the country is progressing very quickly on the health infrastructure front. “While we had only one lab in January to test coronavirus, testing is now taking place at more than 220 labs,” he said.

The decision to extend the lockdown comes three days after PM Modi chaired a video conference of chief ministers of at least 13 states on Saturday, which mainly focused on exit strategy and discussions on lockdown extension.

After taking feedback from the chief ministers on the current Coronavirus situation in the country, the Prime Minister had agreed with the states that the 21-day lockdown should be extended to contain the deadly virus.

Speaking at the video conference, PM Modi said that the focus should be on “jaan bhi, jahaan bhi” (if there’s life, there’s everything) and it is essential for “India’s bright future, and prosperous and healthy India”.

“While announcing the lockdown, I had said ‘jaan hai to jahan hai’… Most people in the country understood it and discharged their responsibilities by remaining indoors. And now it is imperative to focus on both aspects, ‘Jaan Bhi Jahan Bhi’, for India’s bright future, and prosperous and healthy India,” the Prime Minister told the head of the states.

Several states including Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab had at the meeting pitched for an extension of the lockdown at least till April 30.

At least seven states — Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana — have already announced an extension until April 30.

On March 24 evening, the Prime Minister had announced the unprecedented 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the Coronavirus pandemic.

In his first address on March 19, PM Modi announced ‘Janata Curfew’ in the entire nation on March 22, from 7 am to 9 pm — a first step to avoid public gatherings and to prevent the spread of the deadly novel Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the extension of the lockdown is seen as a necessity as India has crossed the 10,000-mark with cases rising to 10,363 including 339 deaths. 1,211 new cases and 31 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.