Breaking: Lockdown extended by 2 weeks till 17 May

May 01: Ministry of Home Affairs have decided to further extend the nationwide lockdown for a period of two weeks till 17 May, 2020. However, there will be partial easing in orange zones and liberal easing in green zones. Green zones will be either a zone which has zero confirmed cases or no confirmed case till last 21 days. New guidelines have been released based on risk profiling of districts. Life will be affected in the red zones.

The orders were issued under Disaster Management Act, 2005. MHA has issued new guidelines for lockdown period. No air travels will be allowed. Malls, gymnasium, hotels, restaurants, cinema halls to remain closed. All educational institutions including coaching centres will also remained closed. Ban was also imposed on rail, air travel and metro. Prohibition was imposed on inter-state travel. However, movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by MHA. All religious gatherings were also prohibited. Barber shops & saloons will too remain shut.

MHA also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green and Orange Zones. The classification of districts as Red Zones will take into account the total number of active cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases, extent of testing and surveillance feedback from the districts.

Movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am. Local authorities shall issue orders under appropriate provisions of law, such as prohibitory orders [curfew] under Section 144 of CrPC, for this purpose, and ensure strict compliance. In all zones, persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes.

Those districts, which are neither defined as Red nor Green, shall be classified as Orange zones. The classification of districts into Red, Green and Orange Zones will be shared by MoHFW with the States and Union Territories (UTs) on a weekly basis, or earlier, as required. While States and UTs can include additional districts as Red and Orange Zones, they may not lower the classification of a district included by MoHFW in the list of Red or Orange Zones.

The most sensitive areas of the country, from the spread of COVID-19 point of view, and falling within the Red and Orange Zones, are designated as Containment Zones. These are areas where there is significant risk of spread of the infection. The containment areas would be defined by respective District Administrations, taking into account the total number of active cases, their geographical spread, and the need to have well demarcated perimeters from the enforcement point of view. The local authority shall ensure 100% coverage of Aarogya Setu app among the residents of the Containment Zone.

Shops in urban areas, for non-essential goods, are not allowed in malls, markets and market complexes. However, all standalone (single) shops, neighborhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential.

In the Orange Zones, in addition to activities permitted in Red Zone, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted with 1 driver and 1 passenger only. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers.

All goods traffic is to be permitted. No State/ UT shall stop the movement of cargo for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries. No separate pass of any sort is needed for such movement, which is essential for maintaining the supply chain of goods and services across the country during the lockdown period. State/ UT Governments are mandated to strictly enforce the lockdown guidelines and they shall not dilute these guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in any manner.

Click on this link for details Lockdown extension guidelines.