Lockdown to be lifted
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today, i.e., Saturday, May 30, 2020 announced to extend the lockdown till June 30, 2020 in containment zones. The lockdown was first announced by the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi from March 25, 2020 to contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In lockdown 5.0, only essential activities will be allowed in the containment zones. The MHA has also issued guidelines for re-opening of all the restricted activities in non-containment zones, in a phase-wise manner.
The Centre has also removed the restriction on Inter-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission /e-pass would be required for Inter-State movement. The night curfew will remain but with a new slot. It will be applicable from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. However, if a State / UT wishes to regulate the movement of people and goods and services in the interest of public health, it will be required to publicise the decision well in advance.
In Phase-I, beginning June 8, 2020, places of worship, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and other hospitality services will be permitted to resume operations. The MHA will soon issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all the activities, in consultation with the Central Ministries / Departments concerned and other stakeholders.
Phase-II will see opening of schools, colleges, educational / training institutions, coaching centres, etc. This will also be done after consultation with States and Union Territories (UTs). The States and UTs have been asked to take feedback from parents and accordingly, the final decision will be taken in the month of July, 2020.
In Phase-III, decision will be taken on the opening of prohibited activities. These include international air travel, metro rail, cinemas, gymnasiums, swimming pools, theatres, entertainment parks, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and functions of mass gatherings – social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural and religious.
The official twitter handle of Spokesperson of MHA tweeted, “From 01.06.2020 ●Within Containment Zones, #Lockdown restrictions to continue till 30.06.2020 ●#Unlock1 All activities to be relaxed in phased manner outside containment zones, as per @MoHFW_INDIA guidelines ●States may impose restrictions/prohibit activities as per assessment.”
Meanwhile, India reported the highest spike in a day with 7,964 fresh cases and 265 casualties. Maharashtra remains the worst hit State reporting 2,094 fresh cases and 99 casualties. The total number of cases have reached 65,168 and there have been 2,197 casualties. Tamil Nadu, the second most hit State reported 856 fresh cases, taking the total tally to 21,184 cases and 160 casualties.
Delhi, which recorded a record high of 1,163 new cases is the third worst affected place. The total number of cases in Delhi are 18,549 and there are 398 casualties. Besides, Gujarat reported 412 new cases and 27 casualties. While West Bengal recorded 317 new cases, Haryana reported 2020 new cases. Tripura saw a huge increase with 798 fresh cases being recorded today.
As per the latest updates, there are 1,73,763 cases of COVID-19 and there have been 4,971 casualties.
