Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the efforts made by states across India to contain the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic as he indicated that the lockdown might continue in Covid-19 hotspots even after May 3.

In his virtual meeting with the chief ministers over lockdown extension, the Prime Minister said collective efforts of states have helped to manage the present crisis and added that thousands of lives have been saved due to steps taken by state governments. “We saw a two-stage lockdown, with strict measures in the first phase and then some relaxations in the second. Good work has been done in the states,” PM Modi told the CMs.

During his meeting via video conferencing on Monday, Prime Minister Modi also told the CMs that a policy needs to be drawn to exit the lockdown. PM Modi asked the states to prepare state-wise exit policy in view of their red, orange and green zones.

The CMs met the PM to discuss the situation arising due to Covid-19 in the country, which is under a 50-day lockdown since March 25 to contain the pandemic

Monday’s meeting was Modi's fourth such interaction with state chief ministers since March 22 when he first spoke to them on the coronavirus situation.

The chief ministers who attended the meeting included Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), E K Palaniswami (Tamil Nadu), Conard Sangma (Meghalaya) Trivendram Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand) and Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh). Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and top officials from the PMO and Union Health Ministry were also present at the virtual meet.

Sources in the government had on Sunday indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime ministers and chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown.

The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual exemptions to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people as some states want further relaxation in areas which have seen few or no coronavirus cases.