The Ministry of Home Affairs has laid out a new set of lockdown guidelines that will be in effect from 1st June, 2020 to 30th June, 2020. The government has extended the nationwide lockdown till 30th June, planning to reopen the country in a phased manner. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, most of the activities will that were banned earlier will be allowed now across states outside the containment zones. India was in a total lockdown since March 25 with a ban on all industrial, commercial and transport activities to combat the spread of coronavirus. The orders will remain as they were in the red zones. Relaxations will apply to the areas outside these zones, maintaining the norms of social distancing. Read on.
India Will Open Up In A Phased Manner: Malls, Restaurants, Religious Places Reopening On 8th June
Phase one of unlocking the nation will be implemented on 8th June, 2020. In this phase, religious places, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls and other hospitality services will open up. The Home Ministry might open up schools and colleges in July only after consulting with the states or union territories. MHA has also shortened the night curfew timings to 9PM-5AM from 7PM-7AM. No permissions will be required for inter-state or intra-state movements unless it is proposed by a particular state or UT. For example, the Delhi-Noida border will remain sealed.
Some activities that will continue to remain suspended in the country are operations of international flights, metro, cinema halls, gyms, bars, swimming pools. They might reopen by the next few weeks only after the assessment of the situation. Social, political and religious gatherings will be prohibited for now.
What Else?
The government has announced that the present phase of reopening will have an economic focus, as the country’s GDP data has shown the slowest growth rate in the last 11 years amid the pandemic. As per the estimates by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, nearly 12 crore people have already lost their jobs in the month of April. The commercial capital of India, Mumbai, is one of those cities that are worst hit by the virus, with nearly about 65,168 confirmed cases and 2197 deaths. It has around 700 containment zones. Delhi has more than 112 such zones, with about 18,549 confirmed cases and 416 deaths.
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After a biggest one-day jump in the number of infections by about 8380 on 31st May, India has reached the 7th position in the global tally of coronavirus cases. Though the country is reopening, we must be extremely careful while stepping out of our houses. We must keep safe distances from others, wear masks and use hand sanitizers frequently.