MUMBAI, Apr 4, 2020, SPA -- The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in South Asia neared 6,000 on Saturday, even as authorities in some cities tightened restrictions on movement and warned lockdowns could be extended in a bid to rein in the pandemic. "If people don't obey the rules seriously and cases continue to rise, then there may be no option but to extend the lockdown," Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra state which includes the financial hub Mumbai, told Reuters. "It could be extended in Mumbai and urban areas of Maharashtra by two weeks." India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this week the country will pull out of the planned three-week lockdown in a phased manner. India has been hardest hit by the disease in South Asia with some 2,902 cases, of which 68 have died. --SPA 16:03 LOCAL TIME 13:03 GMT 0015 www.spa.gov.sa/w1300887