Restrictions will be extended beyond the initial May 4 end date, with easing in some low-risk districts.
The nationwide coronavirus lockdown in India will be extended by two more weeks after May 3, the government said today, noting significant gains from the six-week shutdown in India's fight to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Extending the lockdown for the second time, the home ministry announced new guidelines based on the demarcation of the country into red zones with "significant risk of spread of the infection"; green zones with either zero cases or no confirmed cases in the past 21 days; and those in-between as orange.
While there will be considerable relaxations in the districts in the green and orange zones, some bans will apply across the country, regardless of the grading.
Travel by air, rail, metro, and inter-state movement by road will remain banned except if permitted by MHA.
Schools, colleges and other educational and training institutes; hospitality services including hotels and restaurants; cinema halls, malls, shopping centres, gyms, and sports complexes will also stay shut.
Movement of people by air, rail, and road will be allowed for select purposes and for purposes as permitted by the home ministry. No activity except most essential will be allowed in containment zones. The biggest and most economically-important cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad, all marked red zones, will stay under strict lockdown. Most commercial and private offices can open with upto 33 per cent staff, with the rest working from home. The local authority in containment zones shall ensure full coverage of the app among the residents. India witnessed its biggest jump in coronavirus-linked deaths today, with 77 deaths in the last 24 hours, government data showed. At least 35,365 people have tested positive for coronavirus and 1,152 have died due to the virus.
Source: NDTV India, NDTV News Youtube, Al Jazeera America