After the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced the guidelines for unlocking economic activities in a phase-wise manner, States and Union Territories (UTs) have also shared revised guidelines, which have been framed keeping in mind the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak situation in their place.
The State Government of Maharashtra, the worst affected State, today, i.e., Sunday, May 31, 2020 announced the extension of lockdown till June 30, 2020, with certain relaxations and a few restrictions. Maharashtra remains the most affected State with 65,168 cases and 2,197 casualties. The economic activities will be unlocked in a phase-wise manner under “Mission Begin Again”.
As per the guidelines, all private offices can operate with upto 10% of strength. From June 8, 2020. The remaining persons can work from home. The outdoor portion of sports complexes and stadia will be permitted to open for individual exercises only. All public and private transport will be allowed with 2 passengers and 1 driver for 3-wheelrers and 4-wheelers. In case of 2-wheeler, only the rider is allowed. Intra-District bus services have been allowed with a maximum 50% capacity. Markets can open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on odd-even basis.
As regards restrictions, Inter-District bus service will not be permitted. International air travel, train travel and metro rail services will remain suspended. All religious places, barber shops, spas, salons and beauty parlours will remain closed. Shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will remain shut. Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and large congregations are not allowed. Schools, colleges, educations, training, coaching institutions to remain shut.
In a series of tweets, the official twitter handle of Chief Minister of Maharashtra – Uddhav Thackrey tweeted, “We must together take confident steps to enter the future as part of this #MissionBeginAgain and ‘Punascha Hari Om’ Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra!”
Talking about acting responsibly, he tweeted, “Now, it is necessary to merge both, precautions and responsibility. The way ahead is tough and slippery and we will have to navigate it, hand-in-hand to ensure neither of us fall.”
Taking it to twitter, the Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra – Aaditya Thackrey tweeted, “From today, we have started our phase of a staggered, careful, measured “Begin Again”. While we do that, we must always remain aware of the global pandemic, the danger it poses to human life and take enough precautions. As humans we won’t give up and we won’t give in to Corona.”
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Administration has also extended the lockdown until June 8, 2020. It will re-access the Centre’s new guidelines and will give some relaxations. However, strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the containment zones. There are 2,341 cases in J&K and it has reported 28 casualties. In Rajasthan, all Government and private offices will resume from June 1, 2020 with full strength. Religious places, hotels and malls will remain shut. Private and commercial transport vehicle have been allowed to carry passengers upto full capacity. The Inter-State and Intra-State operation of buses has been allowed. The total number of cases in Rajasthan is 8,617 and there have been 193 casualties.
While extending the lockdown till June 30, 2020, Tamil Nadu has allowed partial opening up public transport and allowing more employees at the workplace. Public transport will resume with reduced services from June 1, 2020, but buses will not operate in Chennai, Kancheepurm, Tiruvallur and Chengalpet Districts. Religious places, Inter-State bus transport, Metro and suburban rails would remain suspended. Tamil Nadu is the second most affected State after Maharashtra. It has more than 21,184 cases and 160 casualties.
Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), salons, beauty parlours and supermarkets are allowed to open. Staff at salons and beauty parlours must wear face shields and gloves while working. The Government offices will operate with 100% workforce but in shifts of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Taxis, autos, e-rickshaws and Intra-State buses have been allowed to operate. Markets can remain open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Supermarkets can also open provided the adhere to the norms of social distancing. Weekly rural markets have also been allowed. The Delhi-Noida border will remain sealed. Gyms, swimming pools, cinemas, schools and international flights may happen from July 2020. There are 7,445 cases of COVID-19 in U.P. and there have been 201 casualties.
As per the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 1,82,143 cases in India and there have been 5,164 casualties.
