The speculations of decision on lockdown 5.0 being announced tomorrow, i.e., May 30, 2020 have started growing after the Home Minister of India – Amit Shah met the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi today, i.e., May 29, 2020.
Prior to meeting Modi, Amit Shah held telephonic conversations with the Chief Ministers (CMs) of various States and Union Territories (U.T.s). This is for the first time Amit Shah has held the discussions with all the CMs. It was the PM Modi who had held all the meetings with the CMs till now. Speaking to the CMs, Shah asked the them to share their concern areas and the sectors they would want to open up from June 1, 2020.
After analysing all the feedback and suggestions received from various CMs, Shah briefed Modi about the views of the various CMs.
States were asking for more say in what were Pan-India Covid-19 Strategies
Post this, speculations started growing that in lockdown 5.0, States may have a say on curfew timing. Schools and colleges may remain close during June. The places of worship are expected to remain close. However, West Bengal and Karnataka are in favour of opening them. Besides, malls, cinema halls and other places of mass gathering are expected to remain close. All the other activities will resume in green and orange zones. The activities may also be allowed in red zones that are outside the containment areas.
Separately, Himachal Pradesh has decided to extend lockdown in 3 Districts of Hamirpur, Solan and Shimla till June 30, 2020. The Chief Minister of Goa – Pramod Sawant is also mulling a 2-week extension of the lockdown. Goa also wants dining-in facility to be allowed in restaurants with 50% capacity. Haryana is said to be in favour of extending the lockdown while keeping its border with Delhi closed. The Chief Minister of Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal is in favour of opening the malls and public transport. The North-eastern States have demanded that States should have more say in finalising the restrictions.
However, Amit Shah has said that it is not yet decided whether lockdown will end or continue. He said the views and concerns of various States are being analysed.
Meanwhile, India reported 6,566 fresh cases and 194 casualties today. Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit State with 2,682 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and 116 casualties being recorded today. The total number of cases in the State have increased to 62,228 and there have been 2098 casualties. Tamil Nadu, the second worst hit State reported 874 fresh cases, taking the total tally to 20,246. Of the new cases, Chennai alone has reported 618. The total number of casualties in Tamil Nadu have been 145. Delhi has become the third most affected place after the total number of cases surged to 16,281. The number of casualties in Delhi have been 316.
Rajasthan reported 298 fresh cases, taking the total number of cases to 8,365 and 184 casualties. Uttarakhand reported 216 fresh cases. Gurugram saw a sharp rise with 115 cases being recorded. Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) reported 275 new cases and 4 casualties, taking the total tally to 7,445 cases and 197 casualties.
In other developments, Delhi Government has announced instructions for home quarantine. As per the guidelines, patient must download Aarogya Setu app, wear 3-layer masks for 8 hours and must throw the mask only by spraying 1% sodium hypochlorite. The patient must stay in home and must not touch the frequently touched spaces attached to the room. The patient is expected to drink lots of water and juice. They are not allowed to consume alcohol, cigarettes and meat.
As per the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 1,65,799 cases and there have been 4,706 casualties.
