States to fix zone sin lock down 4.0

Central government new orders say shops can open, interstate travel to resume with states’ consent In fresh guidelines, the Union home ministry has also allowed the resumption of app-based cab services

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday lifted several stringent curbs, including that on interstate travel and some local transport such as buses, and announced that state governments 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 app-based cab services; 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.

Stadiums 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 lockdown 3.0, interstate travel was a banned activity, except in special cases such as the transport of stranded migrants by bus. Also, it was the Centre that came out with two lists — on April 15 and on May 1 — identifying red zones (with maximum Covid-19 cases), orange zones (with fewer infections) and green zones (Covid-19-free areas), though several states expressed dismay over the process.

“Under the new guidelines, States and Union Territories (UTS) will now delineate Red, Green and Orange zones taking into consideration the parameters shared by the Health Ministry,” a press statement by the government said. These zones can be a district, or a municipal corporation, or even smaller administrative units such as sub-divisions.

The government’s statement added that within red and orange zones, “containment and buffer zones will be as demarcated by the local authorities, after taking into consideration the Health Ministry guidelines”. No relaxations spelt out in the federal guidelines will be applicable to these areas, which will have strict perimeter control and where only essential services will be allowed.

A containment zone can broadly be defined as the epicentre of an infection, while buffer zones are areas adjoining the containment zone where new cases are more likely to appear.

In the fresh guidelines, the government also advised people to use the contact-tracing Aarogya Setu app, and said employers should put in their “best effort” to ensure staff members install it. Earlier, the app was a must for people working in private and public sectors.