Lockdown extended till May 31
The nationwide lockdown has been extended till May 31. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a fresh set of guidelines pertaining to what is allowed and restricted in different zones. The nationwide lockdown was first imposed for 21 days starting March 25 and then extended on April 15 and later on May 4. The lockdown 3.0 ended today.
As announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week, the lockdown 4.0 that begins from May 18, will be enforced with a different set of rules and guidelines. The new guidelines is based on suggestions from states that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought during his fifth discussion with chief ministers on the pandemic on May 11.
Lockdown 4.0 new guidelines:
- State/UT Governments shall not dilute the lockdown guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act 2005, in any manner.
- All other activities will be permitted except those which are specifically prohibited under these guidelines. However, in containment zones, only essential activities shall be allowed, as mentioned earlier.
- With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Arogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.
- District authorities have been asked to advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones & regularly update their health status on the app. This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk.
- Sports complexes and stadia will be permitted to open; however, spectators will not be allowed.
- The guidelines state that all other activities will be allowed, except for those which are specifically prohibited (except for in containment zones). However, states and UTs may prohibit certain activities based on their assessments.
- The new guidelines make a provision for a night curfew, wherein the movement of individuals remains restricted between 7pm and 7am.
- Centre allows states and UTs to decide the delineation of the Red, Green and Orange Zones, after taking into consideration the parameters laid out by the Health Ministry. Within Red and Orange Zones, Containment Zones and Buffer Zones will be demarcated by the district authorities.
- All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places, shall continue to remain closed throughout the country till 31st May.
- Strictness will continue in hotspots and containment zones.
- All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes or purposes as permitted by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to remain prohibited throughout the country.
- Inter-state movement of car, buses to be allowed.
- Swimming pools, schools, colleges, religious places to remain shut.
Earlier, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu on Sunday decided to extend the lockdown till May 31. Karnataka too has extended its lockdown till May 19. The present lockdown was valid from May 2 to 17.
