A view of deserted Mozamjahi market in Hyderabad during the nationwide lockdown (representative image)
The ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended by two more weeks, and will now go on till May 17. The decision was announced through a government order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. "After a comprehensive review, and in view of the Lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI) issued an Order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, today, to further extend the Lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4, 2020," the government order stated.
The first lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister on March 24, which went on till April 15. The second round of lockdown, slated to end on May 3, began on April 15.
The latest Home Ministry order stated that schools, colleges, public transport, including trains, flights and metro services, will remain suspended for the next two weeks across the country. Hotels, restaurants, gyms, cinema halls and shopping malls among others will stay closed for the next two weeks, as will all places of worship.
The red zones in the country, 130 districts in total, will witness no relaxations of the restrictions in the Lockdown 3.0 period, while those districts falling in orange and green zones will see some of the restrictions lifted.
Major metros including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur fall in the red zone districts. Uttar Pradesh has 19 districts falling the red zone districts.
Red Zones
In the 284 orange zone districts, the hotspot areas will see restrictions equivalent to red zone districts, while the localities lying outside the hotspot areas will see some relaxations.
Orange zones
"In the orange Zones, in addition to activities permitted in Red Zone, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted with 1 driver and 1 passenger only. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum of two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers," said the MHA order.
In the 319 green zone districts or places that have not reported any coronavirus infection for the last 21 days, there will be a significant relaxation of restrictions.
"In the Green Zones, all activities are permitted except the limited number of activities which are prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the Zone. However buses can operate with upto 50 per cent seating capacity and bus depots can operate with upto 50 per cent capacity," it said.
Also read: Private offices to re-open in some areas during Lockdown 3.0, but with some restrictions
