Unlock 1: Know What is Allowed, Not Allowed in Lockdown 5

New Delhi, May 30, 2020: The country is going to unlock now. That too in three phases. The Union Home Ministry released a new set of guideline for this today. Under this, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and religious places will open after 8 June, but with conditions. 

Now the lockdown will be only in containment zones across the country till June 30. The decision to open school-college will be made in July. No decision has been taken yet on whether to start international flights and open places like cinema halls for the common people.

Phased re-opening of areas outside the Containment Zones: In areas outside Containment Zones, all activities will be permitted, except the following, which will be allowed, with the stipulation of following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in a phased manner: 

Phase I The following activities will be allowed with effect from 8 June 2020: (i) Religious places/ places of worship for the public. (ii) Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services. (iii) Shopping malls. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) will issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the above activities, in consultation with the Central Ministries/ Departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19. 

Phase II Schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions etc., will be opened after consultations with States and UTs. State Governments/ UT administrations may hold consultations at the institution level with parents and other stakeholders. Based on the feedback, a decision on the re-opening of these institutions will be taken in July 2020. MoHFW will prepare SOP in this regard, in consultation with the Central Ministries/ Departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19. 

Phase III Based on the assessment of the situation, dates for re-starting the following activities will be decided: (i) International air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA. (ii) Metro Rail. (iii) Cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatr., bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar plac.. (iv) Social/ political/ sport, entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations. 2. National Directives for COVID-19 Management National Directives for COVID-19 Management, as specified in Annexure I, shall continue to be followed throughout the country. 

Night curfew Movement of individuals shall remain strictly prohibit., between 9.00 pm to 5.00 am throughout the country, except for essential activities. Local authorities shall issue orders, in the entire area of their jurisdiction, under appropriate provisions of law, such as under Section 144 of CrPC, and ensure strict compliance. 

Lockdown limited to Containment Zones (i) Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in the Containment Zones till 30 June 2020. (ii) Containment Zones will be demarcated by the District authorities after taking into consideration the guidelines of MoHFW. (iii) In the Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining the supply of essential goods and services in the Containment Zones, there shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required. Guidelines of MoHFW shall be taken into consideration for the above purpose. (iv) States/ UTs may also identify Buffer Zones outside the Containment Zones, where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the buffer zones, restrictions, as considered necessary, may be put in place by the District author… 

States/ UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the Containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary. 6. Unrest..ed movement of Persons and goods (i) There shall be no restriction on inter-State and in.-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements. (ii) However, if a State/ UT, based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation, proposes to regulate the movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.

(iii) Movement by passenger trains and Shramik special trains; domestic passenger air travel; the movement of Indian Nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad; evacuation of foreign nationals; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per SOPS issued. (iv) No State/ UT shall stop the movement of any type of goods/ cargo for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries.

Protection of vulnerable persons: Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of IO years are advised to stay at home, except for essential and health Purposes. 

Use of Aarogya Setu App (i) Aarogya Setu enables early identification of potential risk of infection, and thus acts as a shield for individuals and the community. (ii) With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Situ is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones. (iii) District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Situ application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app. This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk. 

Strict enforcement of the guidelines (i) State/ UT Governments shall not dilute these guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in any manner. (ii) All the District Magistrates shall strictly enforce the above measures. 

Penal provisions: Any person violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, besides legal action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and his legal provisions as applicable.  

National Directives for COVID-19 Management- Face coverings: Wearing of face cover is compulsory in public places, in workplaces; and during transport. 

Social distancing: Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet (2 gaz ki doori) in public places. Shops will ensure physical distancing among customers and will not allow more than 5 persons at one time. 

Gatherings: Large public gatherings/ congregations continue to remain prohibited. Marriage related gatherings Number of gues. not to exceed 50. 

Funeral/ last rites related gatherings: Number of persons not to exceed 20. 

Spitting in public places will be punishable with fine, as may be prescribed by the State/ UT local authority in accordance with its laws, rules or regulations. 

Consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco etc.in public places is prohibited. 

Work from home (WFH): As far as possible the practice of WFH should be followed. Staggering of work/ business hours will be followed in offices, workplaces, shops, markets and industrial & commercial establishments. 

Screening & hygiene: Provision for thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitizes will be made at all entry and exit points and common areas. Frequent sanitization of entire workplace, common facilities and all points which come into human contact e.g. door handles etc., will be ensured, including between shifts.  All persons in charge of workplaces will ensure the adequate distance between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc.