Lockdown 5.0 to be strictly implemented in 13 cities

Lockdown 5.0 to be strictly implemented in 13 cities

In single-day record, country registers 7,707 cases, 263 deaths

30/05/2020, VIJAITA SINGH,NEW DELHI

The government is all set to announce Lockdown 5.0 for two weeks, with strict implementation in 13 cities that have recorded 70% of the total COVID-19 cases.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will issue revised guidelines soon, a senior government official said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and is learnt to have given him the feedback he received from the Chief Ministers. Mr. Shah called all the Chief Ministers on Thursday, and sought their views on extending the lockdown.

Even as the new guidelines are set to be announced, there were 7,707 new COVID-19 cases and 263 deaths on Friday, the highest on a single day. This takes the total number of cases to 1,73,052 and fatalities to 4,970.

In the new set of relaxations planned, all kinds of religious places will be allowed to open, but malls and restaurants are expected to remain shut.

The lockdown, imposed first in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 24, has been extended four times. The ongoing phase is in force till May 31.

The Centre is not in favour of running metro trains as most routes fall in the containment zones in cities.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba held a meeting on Thursday with Municipal Commissioners and District Magistrates of the 13 worst- affected COVID-19 regions: Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi/New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Thane, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata/Howrah, Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu).

The State governments will be given more autonomy in implementing the MHA’s guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. “States can improvise to make them more stringent, but they cannot dilute the provisions,” said the official.