India has no plans to extend a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the country. The announcement came on Monday from the government's top bureaucrat. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 had asked the country’s 1.3 billion people to stay indoors until April 14  in the bid to stop the pandemic.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba told a news agency that, “there was no plan to extend the shutdown beyond the three weeks.”

He said he was “surprised to see such reports” that said the shutdown will be prolonged by the government.

India has so far reported 1,071 positive cases, while 29 people have died in the country, the highest in South Asia.

A report had claimed that the government was debating extending the lockdown, alarmed over the infection risk posed by the mass exodus of migrants, who defied orders to stay indoors, and instead walked home, some with families, looking for food and shelter.

"There are rumours and media reports, claiming that the government will extend the #Lockdown21 when it expires. The Cabinet Secretary has denied these reports, and stated that they are baseless," tweeted the Press Information Bureau, the government's media body, with the hashtag #PIBFactCheck. State-run broadcaster Prasar Bharti also put out a denial, called it "fake news".