Govt. eases a slew of restrictions; malls, religious places to open

Govt. eases a slew of restrictions; malls, religious places to open

Lockdown shall continue to be implemented strictly in containment zones: MHA

31/05/2020, VIJAITA SINGH,NEW DELHI

As Lockdown 4.0 comes to an end, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday released new guidelines called ‘Unlock 1.0’ that allow the opening of malls, restaurants and religious places in all areas except the containment zones from June 8.

It, however, prohibits the opening of bars, swimming pools gymnasiums, entertainment parks, cinema halls, metro rail and international air travel.

Wide publicity

The permit system for inter-State movement of vehicles has been removed and there shall be no restriction on movement within and outside a State. If the local administration has to regulate the movement in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases, it will have to give wide publicity in advance regarding the procedure and restrictions to be followed.

The grading of areas as red, orange and green zones will no longer be in force after May 31, when the fourth phase of the lockdown imposed on March 24 ends. However, the State governments could identify buffer zones outside the containment zones and impose restrictions.

On Saturday, the MHA issued the guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for a “phased reopening” of areas outside the containment zones, which will be effective till June 30.

The MHA said the lockdown shall continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones that will be demarcated by the State governments. “Within the containment zones, strict perimeter control shall be maintained and only essential activities allowed.”

“The current phase of reopening, Unlock 1, will have an economic focus,” an MHA statement said.

All kinds of social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural and religious congregations would remain suspended.