The nationwide lockdown in India has been extended till May 17. The Ministry of Home Affairs extended the lockdown for two weeks while allowing different sets of relaxations in red, orange, and green zones. The new guidelines aim at allowing India to exit from lockdown in a staggered manner while reopening the economy.
The prohibited activities include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training hospitality services, cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes.
All social, political, cultural, and other kinds of gatherings and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut.
Movement of persons by air, rail, and road is allowed for select purposes and for purposes as permitted by MHA.
Outside the containment zone falling within Red Zones, certain activities are prohibited in addition to those prohibited throughout the country which includes plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, running of taxis, and cab aggregators, intra-district and inter-district plying of buses, and barber shops, spas and saloons.
However, some activities have been allowed in the Red Zones with restrictions that include movement of individuals and vehicles is allowed only for permitted activities with a maximum of two persons besides the driver in four-wheeler vehicles and with no pillion rider in the case of two-wheelers.
Red zone:
These will see intensified surveillance protocols, contact tracing, and 100% coverage of the Aarogya Setu app. Containment zones will see house to house surveillance, home/ institutional quarantining of affected, and clinical management. A strict perimeter will be ensured.
What is allowed (with restrictions and social distancing)
- Movement of individuals and vehicles with a maximum of 2 persons (besides the driver) in four-wheeler vehicles, and with no pillion rider in the case of two-wheelers.
- Special Economic Zones, Export Oriented Units, industrial estates, and industrial townships
- Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw materials
- Manufacturing of IT hardware
- Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing; and,
- manufacturing units of packaging material.
- Construction activities are limited to in-situ construction (where workers are available on-site).
- All standalone (single) shops, neighborhood (colony) shops, and shops in residential complexes.
- E-Commerce activities only in respect of essential goods.
- Private offices can operate with up to 33% strength.
- All Government offices
- Food-processing units
- All agriculture activities
- All plantation activities
- All health services (including AYUSH)
- Banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), insurance, and capital market activities.
- Public utilities