New Delhi, March 31: Amid nationwide lockdown and exodus of migrant labourers who are facing hardships, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta on Tuesday said that lockdown should not be "extended" if the coronavirus is contained.

Speaking to IANS, Sushil Gupta said that, "If there is no proof of community spread of the virus then lockdown should not be extended".

While he said that the lockdown is necessary to control the pandemic, the Delhi government is doing good work to help the people. Cancel April Fool's Day 2020! This April 1, Let's Spread Smiles Instead of 'Purported' Fake News as Funny Pranks.

When asked why there is exodus of migrant labourers, Gupta said, "people are afraid and hungry", and we are helping them with food and shelter.

He said that he is running a community kitchen in Hiran Kudna village in west Delhi and feeding 2000 people a day in Jhuggi clusters where most of the daily wagers live in areas like Kirari, Madipur, Kirti Nagar with the help of NGOs attached to him. They are working day and night to feed the hungry, he said.

Gupta slammed the Union Government for not helping the people directly and left it to the state government and the lockdown was in haste as people did not get time to prepare.

While emphasising Social Distancing is the need of the hour, Gupta appealed to people to adhere to the guidelines issued by the government.

The national capital of India -- Delhi reported 97 positive cases of deadly Coronavirus on Monday, the directorate general of health service of Delhi Government said.

It also stated that out of 97 total positive cases, 5 have been discharged and 2 people succumbed to the virus. It further pointed out that currently 89 people are admitted in various hospitals across the capital city. The report of the health department stated that one of the COVID-19 patients was a foreign national and he has gone back to his country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2020 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).