Lockdown Extended Till 31 May – What’s Allowed, What’s Not

Schools, colleges, hotels, restaurants and metro rail services will remain prohibited.

Photo used for representational purposes only.

(Photo: PTI)

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday, 17 May, extended the nationwide coronavirus lockdown till 31 May after the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) asked ministries, departments of Government of India (GOI), state governments, and state authorities to continue the lockdown measures.

Schools, colleges, other educational institutions, hotels, restaurants, and metro rail services will remain prohibited. Whereas, inter-state movement of passenger vehicles and buses will be allowed with mutual consent of states and Union territories involved.

The Home Ministry told the states and UTs to not dilute the restrictions imposed in the guidelines, but added that they may prohibit certain other activities or impose additional restrictions, as deemed necessary.

Here’s a detailed list of what's allowed and what’s not in phase four of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Activities Which Will Remain Prohibited Across The Country

• All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes or purposes as permitted by MHA.
• Metro rail services.
• Schools, colleges, educational, training, coaching institutions etc. will remain closed. Online or distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged.
• Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, except those meant for housing health, police, government officials, healthcare workers, stranded persons including tourists and for quarantine facilities; and running of canteens at bus depots, railway stations and airports. Restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items.
• All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places. Sports complexes and stadia will be permitted to open; however, spectators will not be allowed.
• All social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions, other gatherings and large congregations.
• All religious places, places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited.

Activities Permitted With Restrictions Except in Containment Zones

• Inter-State movement of passenger vehicles and buses, with mutual consent of the State(s) and UT(s) involved.
• Intra-State movement of passenger vehicles and buses, as decided by the States and UTs.
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the movement of persons, as mentioned in Annexure I, shall continue to operate.

Containment, Buffer, Red, Green and Orange Zones

• The delineation of Red, Green and Orange Zones will be decided by the respective State and UT Governments, after taking into consideration the parameters shared by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (Gol).

• Within the Red and Orange Zones, Containment Zones and Buffer Zones will be demarcated by the District authorities, after taking into consideration the guidelines of MoHFW.
• 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. Guidelines of MoHFW shall be taken into consideration for the above purpose.
• In the Containment Zones, there shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required.

Night Curfew

The movement of individuals shall remain strictly prohibited between 7.00 pm to 7.00 am, except for essential activities. Local authorities shall issue orders, in the entire area of their jurisdiction, under appropriate provisions of law, such as prohibitory orders [Curfew] under Section 144 of CrPC, and ensure strict compliance.

Use of Aarogya Setu

• Aarogya Setu enables early identification of potential risk of infection, and thus acts as a shield for individuals and the community.
• With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Setu is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.
• District authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu 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.