CHINA AT RISK OF A 2ND WAVE: TOP OFFICIAL COVID VACCINE MIGHT NOT COME TO FRUITION, WARNS BORIS Statestofixzonesinlockdown4.0 Delhi to put out own guidelines today: Kejriwal
TWO-WEEK EXTENSION Centre’s guidelines say shops can open, interstate travel to resume with states’ consent CAPITAL’S CASE Delhi could exercise power to convert all red zones, except areas under containment, into green
nNEW 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.
The Centre has extended the Covid-19 curbs till May 31 while also giving several relaxations
BIG CHANGES OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
DIVISION OF ZONES While private offices were allowed to function with States/union 33% of staff strength, the fresh order does not Territories can now mention any such restrictions define green, No bar on e-commerce players, who can resume orange and red zones while delivery of all goods even in red zones taking into consideration Ban on cab aggregators lifted parameters defined by the
WHAT REMAINS UNCHANGED?
Union health ministry
SHOPS AND MARKETS
Only special trains run by the govt are allowed
All shops, except those in malls, can re-open, but Only essential services permitted in containment zones certain conditions will apply Night curfew between 7pm and 7am will be in place; Staggered work, business hours to be followed essential services are exempt
Just five people allowed inside a shop at a time People above 65 years, children, and those with existing Social-distancing measures, frequent sanitisation health conditions advised to stay home a must Masks to be worn at all public places and offices Spitting in public is a punishable offence STADIUMS
Sports complexes
PROHIBITED ACROSS COUNTRY and stadia will be permitted to All passenger flights (international and domestic) open, paving the Metro trains way for competitive
Dine-in restaurants and eateries sports to resume; spectators won’t be Cinema halls, malls, gyms, assembly halls allowed though All religious/political gatherings
Education institutes
nnnMOVEMENT
Interstate movement of passenger vehicles and buses will be allowed after mutual consent by the states involved; states/uts to decide on intrastate movement
AAROGYA SETU
Aarogya Setu, which was mandatory for private and public sector employees, is no longer a must, but people have been advised to use the contact-tracing app; employers should put in their “best effort” to ensure staff members install it
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnOFFICIALS SAID THERE WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE ALLOWED IN DELHI IN THE FOURTH PHASE OF LOCKDOWN
States and Union Territories can impose further restrictions. Hence, what’s open and what’s not in an area might largely depend on the state-specific guidelines. The Delhi government has said it will announce new rules for the Capital today
DEATHS
DEATHS
May 17
nNEWDELHI: The Delhi government will announce on Monday what citizens can and cannot do in the national capital, officials announced on Sunday after the Union government significantly eased some of the curbs in force since March 25, when the country was put under a lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“The Centre’s guidelines are largely in line with the proposal sent by the Delhi government, based on the suggestions of lakhs of Delhiites. We have used the lockdown period to prepare our health care system if corona cases increase, but it is now time to relax the restrictions to some extent,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet, minutes after the Union home ministry issued the guidelines on Sunday.
According to officials, who asked not to be named, except for the 75 containment zones in the Capital, there will be a significant increase in permitted activities in line with Centre’s guidelines. Some of these could include the return of buses, cabs, auto-rickshaws and lead to the reopening of markets, sports complexes, industries and offices.
These were part of relaxations that Delhi suggested to the Centre in a letter written by the CM to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Some of the other recommendations by the Delhi government, such as reducing the night curfew hours to 9pm-5am and reopening some shops in shopping malls, were not part of the Union government guidelines – which means they cannot be implemented.