New Delhi: The Centre has extended the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by another two weeks or 14 days.
This is in addition to the extended lockdown due to end on May 4 as announced by the government earlier.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued specific guidelines to regulate different economic activities during this period.
While the restrictions in the Red zone remain largely unchanged, the guideline has allowed a lot of activities which were prohibited earlier in the Green and Orange zones.
Here’s a list of all activities that are allowed and prohibited.
Activities prohibited irrespective of the zone:
- All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for medical services, air ambulance and for security purposes or for purposes as permitted by MHA.
- All passenger movement by trains, except for sercurity purposes or for purposes as permitted by MHA.
- Inter-state buses for public transport, except as permitted by MHA.
- Metro rail services.
- Inter-state movement of individuals except for medical reasons or for activities as permitted by MHA.
- All schools, colleges, educations/training/coaching institutions etc. However, online/distance learning shall be permitted.
- Hospitality services other than those used for housing health/police/Government officials/healthcare workers, stranded persons including tourists, and those used for quarantine facilities.
- All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.
- All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/culturalreligious functions/ other gatherings.
- All religious places/ places of worship.
- Religious congregations are strictly prohibited.
- Movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am.
- Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years are directed to stay at home at all times, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes.
- Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and Medical clinics are not permitted to operate in containment zones. However, they ma operate in Red, Orange and Green Zones with social distancing norms and other safety precautions if permitted.
Activities prohibited in the Red (hotspot) zone:
- Plying of cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws
- Running of taxis and cab aggregators
- Intra-district and inter-district plying of buses
- Barber shops, spas and saloons
Activities allowed in the Red (hotspot) zone with restrictions:
- Movement of individuals and vehicles is allowed only for permitted activities, with a maximum of 2 persons (besides the driver) in four-wheeler vehicles, and with no pillion rider in the case of two-wheelers.
- Industrial establishments in urban areas, viz., Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control have been permitted.
- Manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates are permitted.
- Production units, which require continuous process, and their supply chain
- Manufacturing of IT hardware
- Jute industry with staggered shifts and social distancing
- Manufacturing units of packaging material are permitted.
- Construction activities will be permitted in urban areas only in situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside).
- Construction of renewable energy projects will be permitted.
- All malls, market complexes and markets shall remain closed in urban areas, i.e., areas within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities. However, shops selling essential goods in markets and market complexes are permitted.
- All standalone (single) shops, neighborhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential. All shops in rural areas, except in malls, are permitted to remain open, without any distinction of essential and non-essential.
- E-commerce activities will be permitted only in respect of essential goods.
- Private offices can operate with upto 33 percent strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home.
- All Government offices shall function with officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above to the extent of 100 percent strength. The remaining staff will attend upto 33 percent as per requirement. However, Defense and Security services, Health and Family Welfare, Police, Prisons, Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services, Disaster management and related services, NIC, Customs, FCI, NCC, NYK and Municipal services shall function without any restrictions; delivery of public services shall be ensured and necessary staff will be deployed for such purpose.
- All industrial and construction activities are permitted in rural areas.
Activities prohibited in the Orange zone:
- Inter-district and Intra-district plying of buses.
Activities allowed in the Orange zone (with restrictions):
- Taxis and cab aggregators, with 1 driver and 2 passengers only.
- Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles, only for permitted activities. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver.
Activities allowed in the Green zone (with restrictions):
- Buses can operate with upto 50 percent seating capacity.
- Bus depots can operate with upto 50 percent capacity.
- All other activities will be permitted activities, which are not specifically prohibited/ permitted with restrictions in the various Zones, as mentioned above.
- Additionally, states/ UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may allow only select activities from out of the permitted activities, with such restrictions as felt necessary.
- All States/ UTS shall allow inter-state movement of goods/ cargo, including empty trucks.
- No State/ UT shall stop the movement of cargo for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries.
- No separate/fresh permissions are required from authorities for activities already permitted to operate under the guidelines on Lockdown measures up to May 3, 2020.
The MHA has also issued the following Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs), which will continue to operate:
- SOP on transit arrangement for foreign national(s) in India and release of quarantine persons, issued vide Order dated April C)2, 2020.
- SOP on movement of stranded labour within States/ UTs, issued vide Order dated April 19, 2020.
- SOP on sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers, issued vide Order dated April 21, 2020.
- SOP on movement of stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons, issued vide Order dated April 29, 2020.
- SOP on movement of stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons by train, issued vide Order dated May 01, 2020.
Mandatory directives:
- Compulsorily wearing a face cover in all public places.
- Ensuring no more 50 than guests are allowed in marriages related gatherings.
- No more than 20 persons should gather for Funeral and last rites related gatherings.
- Shops selling liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco etc. are required to ensure minimum six feet distance (2 gaz ki doon) from each other, and not more than 5 persons are present at one time at the shop.