India said on Friday it would extend its nationwide lockdown for another two weeks after May 4, but would allow "considerable relaxations" in lower-risk districts marked as green and orange zones under the government's plan to fight the novel coronavirus.
India's biggest and most economically-important cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad, would all be classed as red zones, infection hotspots, and kept under strict lockdown.
To qualify as a green zone, eligible for quicker lifting of restrictions, an area would have had to report no new infections for three weeks. The classifications would be "dynamic" and updated at least weekly as conditions change, Sudan wrote.
India has reported more than 35,000 cases and 1,147 confirmed deaths from the virus. The official toll is far lower than in the United States and many European countries, although the true extent of infection may be higher in a country where millions of people do not have access to sufficient healthcare.
