Indian PM extends lockdown to May 3 as coronavirus cases cross 10,000

New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended a nationwide lockdown until May 3 as the number of coronavirus cases crossed 10,000 despite a three-week shutdown.

Modi, in an address on national television on the world’s biggest shutdown, said the challenge was to stop the virus from spreading to new parts of the country, Reuters reports.

“Till May 3, every Indian will have to stay in lockdown. I request all Indians that we stop the coronavirus from spreading to other areas,” he said.

Modi spoke as the number of people infected with coronavirus reached 10,363, according to government data on Tuesday, of whom 339 have died.