States to fix zones in lockdown 4.0 State records over 2,000 cases in a day; tally 33,053
TWO-WEEK EXTENSION Centre’s guidelines say shops can open, interstate travel to resume with states’ consent MAHA’S CASE State government is likely to issue notification on relaxations and clarity on zones today
The government on Sunday lifted several stringent curbs, including that on interstate travel and the functioning of app-based cab services across India, and announced that local authorities alone will grade zones based on the prevalence of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, while it also extended the nationwide lockdown imposed in March-end to stop the spread of the contagion till May 31.
In fresh guidelines, the home ministry also allowed the resumption of buses; gave permission to the functioning of all shops, markets and commercial establishments except those in malls; and eased curbs on private offices that were previously allowed to function with 33% staff strength.
Stadia and sports complexes were allowed to open for the first time since March 25 — when the lockdown was first imposed — but spectators will not be permitted inside.
The two significant steps that stood out were the conditional approval to interstate movement of passenger vehicles and buses with “mutual consent” of the states and the Union Territories (UTS) involved, and the transfer of power to states for defining red, orange and green zones that have been instrumental in the strategy for imposing area-specific curbs in the previous phase of the lockdown. The Centre also allowed states and UTS to decide on the movement of passenger vehicles within their territories, and lifted the ban on cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber even in areas with relatively higher cases.
In a grim first, Maharashtra on Sunday recorded more than 2,000 Covid-19 cases with 2,347 new infections, taking the tally to 33,053. Sunday’s numbers come more than two months after the state started rolling out restrictions to curb the virus’ spread and on the last day of the third phase of the lockdown.
The worst-ravaged Indian city, Mumbai, too, registered its highest single-day jump in virus cases with 1,595 new patients, bringing its count past 20,000 to 20,150.
The state saw 63 Covid-19 deaths, of which 38 were in Mumbai, nine in Pune, six in Aurangabad, three each in Solapur city and Raigad, one each in Thane rural, Panvel, Latur and Amravati.
Thirty-four of the patients who died on Sunday were above 60 years of age, while 22 were in the age group of 40 to 59 years and the remaining seven were below the age of 40 years. Forty-one of them had high-risk comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments.
Hours before the Centre announced it officially on Sunday evening, the Maharashtra government extended the ongoing lockdown by two weeks till May 31. The state government is expected to soon issue its own notification, extending some relaxations for commercial-industrial activities and bringing clarity on the delineation of the zones (red, orange and green).
“Although the state government cannot dilute the restrictions imposed by the Centre, it has been given powers to prepare buffer/micro zones. This may increase the number of containment zones, but actual area will decrease, leaving room for activities in the remaining area. Also, the state had not relaxed some restrictions, even though the Centre had allowed them, in the last notification. For instance, the relaxations to allow more employees in government and private offices, or operating nonessential shops in a staggered manner even in red zones, were not implemented in cities like Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik. The state can now go ahead with the opening of few more shops and increasing attendance in offices,” said a senior government official.
‘HEALTH RISK’