India Lockdown 5.0 LIVE Updates: Arun, a factory worker, walks with his family to board a bus from Ghaziabad to Kanpur on Saturday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
Lockdown 5.0 Guidelines & Rules LIVE Updates: On the first day of unlock 1.0, Kerala allowed buses to ply in neighbouring districts with adequate safety measure including wearing masks and using sanitisers. Although the government permitted shootings for films and soap operas, outdoor shoots have not been allowed.
Meanwhile, authorities in Kashmir were mulling to reopen schools, which have been closed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, in the valley from the middle of June this year. Amid the surge in cases, Delhi sealed its borders for a week. Only those people providing essential services will be allowed to cross, the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
The unlock 1.0, however, will play out differently in most states as they have been given the freedom to prohibit certain activities if they deem fit. But they cannot water down the Centre guidelines. On Sunday, a day before lockdown 4.0 expires, Tamil Nadu announced that it would be extending the lockdown till June 30.
Lockdown 5.0 Guidelines & Rules LIVE Updates: The deserted look of Mumbai iconic monuments like CSMT, Hutatma Chowk, Marine Drive’s Queens Necklace, and Gateway of India. (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)
Sixty days after BMC turned Worli Koliwada into a tightly sealed containment zone, most of the area was “desealed” on May 30. About a quarter of the area, comprising 12 clusters in Worli Koliwada and seven in Janata Colony — which still has active cases — continues to remain sealed. Read more here
As migrant workers make their way home on Shramik Special trains, several corporate giants have stepped in to provide them with refreshments and other requirements.
With supply chains stressed due to the lockdown, sourcing packed food to distribute in trains has become a challenge in places like Bihar. Thus, officials have established direct connect with corporate majors, and several business houses are helping, under their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.
On Monday for instance, the Coca-Cola Company sponsored one lakh bottles of its aerated soft drinks and juices for passengers on Shramik Specials arriving in or passing through Bihar. Read more here
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s NGO Meer Foundation has come forward to help the baby whose video trying to awaken his dead mother at the Muzaffarpur railway station in Bihar went viral on social media, PTI reported. The video last week was among the most heart-wrenching images to have emerged out of the massive migrant crisis during the coronavirus-led lockdown in the country.
Shah Rukh on Monday said as someone who understands how it feels to lose one’s parents, his support will always be with the child. The video of the toddler from Bihar went viral on social media last week and Shah Rukh’s foundation was quick to trace the child and help him. “MeerFoundation is thankful to all who helped us reach this child, whose heart-wrenching video of trying to wake his mother disturbed all. We are now supporting him and he is under his grandfather’s care,” the NGO posted on Twitter along with the baby and his brother sitting with their grandparents. Read more interesting stories on Day 69 of the lockdown here.
Authorities in Kashmir are planning to reopen schools, which have been closed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, in the valley from the middle of June this year. The government schools have been asked to provide two reusable masks and a pair of hand gloves to each student while installing hand sanitisers and liquid soap dispensers at the entry point of each school, according to a letter written by the director finance in the school education department.
The government schools have been asked to provide two reusable masks and a pair of hand gloves to each student while installing hand sanitisers and liquid soap dispensers at the entry point of each school, according to a letter written by the director finance in the school education department. (PTI)
The Jharkhand govenrment Monday issued guidelines to reopen prohibited activities in a phased manner in areas outside containment zones. Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh said that the govenrment is taking a "cautious approach" while implementing in the MHA directions for easing the lock down as migrants have entered from various other states.
"It was felt there is a need for cautious approach...as many migrants have entered the state of Jharkhand from various other states and countries severely affected by COVID-19 and at the same time it was felt necessary to open up economic acitivities and to ease out hardships faced by the people," said CS Sukhdev Singh.
Lockdown will be extended in containment zones till June 30, however, till outside these zones service centres of mobile, watches, TVs--IT related centres will be allowed to open. In district headquarter urban areas, shops selling capital goods, hardware, consumer electronics, jewelries, kitchens wares and furniture will be allowed to open up.
"Call centre of private companies, Restaurants and district head quarter urban areas--only delivery and takeaways, Intra-district plying of public transport of by auto-rickshaw,tempo, -ricksaw, mannual rickshaw among others shall be permitted," the order said. - Abhishek Angad reports from Ranchi
Life returned to near normal in many parts of Gujarat, notably in Ahmedabad, the state's worst coronavirus-hit district, as several restrictions were eased in the fifth phase of the lockdown that began on Monday. Roads bustled with traffic as people came out in large numbers to visit markets, which are now open till 7pm in all areas except in containment and micro-containment zones. (PTI)
Barber shops and parlours, public parks for morning walks, and film shooting in studios and open spaces (subject to social distancing guidelines) — allowed from June 1 in Assam.
After over two months of closure due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, monuments and tourists places in Rajasthan reopened on Monday with cultural events and performances by folk artistes, but there was no footfall. Tourism stakeholders have welcomed the government decision to allow reopening of these places but are also concerned as the coronavirus outbreak is still raging. "On the first day of reopening, we organised cultural performance by folk artistes at 32 monuments in the state including in capital city. It was to mark the reopening of the monuments," Prakash Chandra Sharma, Director, Department of Archaeology and Museum, told PTI.
As the COVID-19 lockdown 5.0 came into effect on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government decided to not unlock its borders yet for inter-state movement of people and vehicles. State Director General of Police D G Sawang said that restrictions on inter-state movement of people would remain in force "till a further decision is taken." Those who need to come to AP from other states in private vehicles would have to obtain an e-pass through the government's 'Spandana' portal and undergo medical tests. "Those seeking to come from less coronavirus-affected states will be sent to home quarantine and those from highly-affected states will be sent to institutional quarantine for seven days. After that, if they test positive for COVID-19, they will be sent to hospital or, if negative, for home quarantine for further seven days," PTI quoted the DGP as saying in arelease.
Scenes from the shopping hub of Chennai: T Nagar. As per the guidelines issued by the Tamil Nadu government, jewellery and textile shops can function across the state with 50 per cent staff strength and without air conditioning. Five customers are allowed inside at a time.
Cabinet Monday approved Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs, this will benefit 2 lakh stressed MSMEs, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said after cabinet meeting. Union Minister Narendra Tomar said that the farmers will get more time to repay their loans, till August now.
In a sign that bed in Delhi government-run hospitals are likely to be reserved for only the city’s residents, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday sealed the national capital’s borders for a week. The decision comes against the backdrop of a consistent four-digit rise in the number of corona cases in the city since March 28. However, within the city, there will be more relaxations, the CM said, announcing the decision to allow barber shops and salons to open and lifting the odd-even restrictions from markets. Read more here
From open shops and markets and milling crowds on roads to the hustle and bustle of railway stations, a semblance of normality seemed to return in various states as the country entered the first of the three-phase unlock plan on Monday. With the government allowing unfettered movement of goods and persons within states, more vehicles were out on the roads, leading to snarls in many cities, even though public transport remained skeletal.
In Bengaluru, an increase in people and vehicle movements were seen in most parts of the city except containment zones while roads in Tamil Nadu witnessed much more traffic with the arrival of auto rickshaws and taxis. Read more here
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said all relaxations that have been allowed by central government will be allowed in Goa, other decisions regarding the relaxations will be taken in a Cabinet meeting later today. "We are not allowing inter-state transport," he told ANI.
The Chief Minister said that since Delhi’s health care services in the government sector are free and also claimed they were better than in a lot of other states, and there was a possibility that patients from outside Delhi would want to get treated in the city.
The government is worried that considering the current Covid case load – the city saw 1295 cases on Sunday and the total active cases are around 11,000 – hospitals could get overwhelmed. There are 6,600 Covid beds in city hospitals so far, of which 2586 are occupied. This is supposed to go up to 9,500 by June 5. The fear is that these will get occupied within a couple of days if free movement starts.
As the COVID-19 lockdown 5.0 came into effect on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided not to unlock its borders yet for inter-state movement of vehicles and people. State Director General of Police D G Sawang said in a release that restrictions on inter-state movement of people would remain in force "till a further decision is taken." Those seeking to come to AP from other states in private vehicles should obtain an e-pass through the government's 'Spandana' web portal and undergo medical tests. "Those seeking to come from less coronavirus-affected states will be sent to home quarantine and those from highly-affected states will be sent to institutional quarantine for seven days.
Those employed in essential services, which includes health services, municipal services, movement of vegetables, grocery and dairy items, banking operations, among others, will be allowed to cross the border. Anyone who works with the government will also be allowed into the city using only the official identity card. Those who have valid movement passes will be allowed entry. Transport options such as cabs, autos and buses have not been allowed. Only those with e-passes will be allowed movement.
Announcing guidelines for Lockdown 5.0, the Rajasthan government on Sunday said that all government offices will work with full strength from June 1 and private offices will be permitted to operate with full strength but they should encourage “work from home”.
The guidelines, issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup, will be in effect from June 1 to June 30 and, as per officials, emphasise “cautious resumption of normalcy through adequate precautionary and safety measures”. Read more here
The state government has announced relaxations in lockdown with effect from Monday and decided to allow shops located outside the containment zones to operate without any restriction of the odd-even formula.
The AMC also declared micro containment zones from new wards other than the 10 containment wards existing. These include Vatva, Indrapuri ward in the south zone; Saijpur, Bapunagar, India colony in the north zone; Viratnagar and Amraiwadi in the east zone, Ghatlodiya, Bodakdev in the north west; Sabarmati, Navrangpura, Nava Vadaj, Naranpura and Paldi in the west and Maktampura and Sarkhej in the south west zones. Read more here
Former Maharashtra Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar has written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday seeking a six-month extension for the sarpanches, deputy sarpanches and members of 14,314 gram panchayats across the state, whose tenure have ended, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state government should extend the tenure of 14,314 gram panchayats by six months. They can continue to work as a caretaker,” Mugantiwar stated in the letter. Read more here
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said the academic year for schools in the state will commence in June and both offline and online options should be used for it. Thackeray also approved the use of online platforms, such as Google Classroom, for teaching as the country enters the fifth phase of the lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The academic year must start from June. Schools should be started, wherever possible, with proper healthcare. Education should start even through the online medium,” Thackeray said at a review meeting held with the school education department. Read more here
After news reports of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh mass-producing the ‘gamcha mask’ sported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Handloom and Textiles department of Manipur — where the gamcha is a traditional garment – is up in arms.
The department has sought the intervention of the Union Ministry of Textiles, to take necessary steps to ‘immediately stop the production of gamchha face mask in UP’, citing “emotional discontentment” amongst the public, including weavers, in Manipur. Read more here
The Punjab government Sunday issued fresh guidelines for the next phase of lockdown, starting June 1 and allowed the opening of places of worship besides shopping malls, hotels and restaurants from June 8.
The government also allowed the movement of persons till 9 pm. The night curfew will continue for eight hours till 5 am, as per the guidelines issued by the Punjab Home Affairs and Justice Department.
Wearing of mask is mandatory and social distancing is to be ensured and any lapses can attract penalty.
All shops would be allowed to remain open from 7 am to 7 pm and the liquor vends will be opened between 8 am and 8 pm. However, for shops situated in main bazars, market complexes and rehri markets and other crowed places, district authorities can exercise their discretion and in order to avoid crowding can stagger the opening of shop. Barber shops, hair cutting salons, beauty parlours will also be allowed to open between 7 am to 7 pm.
In line with the Centre’s guidelines, the state government has prohibited opening of cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places till June 30. Bars, schools, colleges and educational institutions will not be allowed to open in Unlock 1.0.
The central government and private offices will be allowed to open as per required strength without any restrictions except that compliance of social distancing and wearing of masks at all times, shall be ensured. The timings may be adjusted to work in small teams to ensure strict compliance of these restrictions, the guidelines have directed.
All the Punjab government offices would remain open as per required strength. However, head of the office will ensure that there is adequate space for maintaining social distancing norms. If the space is inadequate, the employe es will be required to attend office by rotation.
After keeping its borders shut with the National Capital Territory of Delhi for over two weeks, Haryana Sunday lifted the restrictions, opening its borders with Delhi. There shall be free moment of people between Haryana and Delhi from Monday 9 am onwards.
Even while cases continue to rise in Delhi’s border districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat, the Haryana government today adhered to union government’s guidelines and lifted all restrictions, permitting "free movement of inter-state travel of individuals and goods".
Regarding religious places, hotels and restaurants, the state has decided that “with effect from June 8, 2020 activities will be allowed in religious places, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services and shopping malls in accordance with the SOPs which will be decided later by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare”.
Sources in the government confirmed to the The Indian Express that restrictions have been lifted on Delhi's borders. “There shall be no restrictions on travel of individuals between Delhi and any part of Haryana from Monday morning. For the last about two weeks, nobody from Delhi was allowed unless the person was on essential service duty or possessed a curfew-pass approved by state’s home department. From Monday, all such restrictions have now been lifted. However, the restrictions shall continue in the containment zones”, a senior government functionary told The Indian Express.
In Haryana’s four districts that share borders with Delhi, there are 75 containment zones in Gurgaon, 59 in Faridabad, 27 in Jhajjar and 80 containment zones in Sonipat district.
The decision was taken in a late evening meeting chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and attended by Deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and home-cum-health minister Anil Vij. Various top bureaucrats of the state government also attended the meeting.
The UP government on Sunday allowed interstate travel but left it to the district administrations of Ghaziabad and Noida to take a call on the movement of people from adjoining New Delhi. In guidelines on the next phase of the coronavirus lockdown, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary R K Tiwari said, “There is no ban on interstate and intra-state movement by persons or goods.”
The order added that there is no need for a separate approval or an e-permit for this. But at the same time, the order said there will be a ban on the movement of people from the containment areas in Delhi to the NCR areas of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad. Later in the evening, it was announced that Noida-Delhi borders would remain sealed. The decision was taken by the administration after consulting with health and police departments.
The Rajasthan government on Sunday allowed full attendance in government and private sectors but continued the ban on opening religious places, hotels and malls in the next phase of the lockdown, starting on June 1 and lasting till June 30. In its fresh guidelines issued at the end of the fourth phase of lockdown, the state government also allowed private and commercial transport vehicle to carry passengers up to their full capacity, but no more.
The Ashok Gehlot government also allowed interstate and intrastate operation of buses, while providing that the buses would ply within the state only on permitted routes and outside containment zones. The city buses, however, were yet not allowed to ply.
The guidelines said there would be no restriction on interstate and intrastate movement of people and goods and no separate pass, permission, approval or permit would be required for that. Government offices will start functioning with full capacity from June 1, said the new guidelines.
Karnataka extends lockdown till June 30. Prohibited activities outside containment zones will continue to reopen in a phased manner.
Telangana govt extends lockdown in identified containment zones till June 30 and has also lifted restrictions on inter-state movement of people.
Maharashtra government has named the extension of lockdow till June 30 as 'Mission Begin Again' In Maharashtra, markets and shops, except malls, wil be allowed to function from June 5, while private offices can operate with up to 10 per cent strength from June 8, officials told PTI. Maharashtra government makes it clear that easing of curbs and phase-wise opening will exclude COVID-19 containment zones.
After Ministry of Home Affairs' guidelines, timings for prohibition of movement of individuals, for all non essential activities has been revised by Chandigarh administration from 9 pm to 5 am with immediate effect from June 1.
News agency ANI reported that the guidelines on lockdown measures will remain applicable in Karnataka till June 30. Also, all religious places and places of worship for public; hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services; and shopping malls; will be permitted to open from June 8.
Trains and flights are expecte to arrive in Goa in large numbers from June 1 as the fift phase of the coronavirus-induced lockdown brings with it greater rolling back of restrictions, officials said o Sunday. Konkan Railway public relations officer Baban Ghatg said three trains originating from Delhi and Mumbai will hal at Madgaon station in south Goa from June 1, and so woul Mangala Express (New Delhi to Ernakulum), Netravati Expres (LTT-Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram) and Duronto Expres (Nizamuddin to Ernakulum).
The state health department had set up facilitie required to test passengers in view of the virus outbreak, he added. The New Delhi-Vasco Goa Express will also start it regular trip from June 1. As per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), anyon arriving in Goa will have to either carry COVID-19 negativ certificate from an ICMR-certified lab or get himself teste for the infection here. The state government has announced a repatriatio flight from Dubai to Goa on Monday bringing in Indians fro the Middle East. Dixon Vaz, founder president of Goa Seamen Associatio of India, said two flights of Srilankan Airlines carrying 20 Indians working on different ships abroad are scheduled t land at Goa airport on Monday.
"These people were stranded in Colombo for long. Thei flight was cancelled thrice and finally they got a go ahead At least 7-10 repatriation flights with Indians, especiall Goans, from places like London are waiting for the nod t arrive in Goa. Some 800 Goans working on different ships hav already arrived," he added. (PTI)
The West Bengal government on Saturday extended the Covid-19 lockdown till June 15, but eased more curbs a day after announcing the first round of relaxations. The government said the lockdown would continue in containment zones, but activities would be restarted in other areas.
The government announced that indoor and outdoor activities such as TV and cinema production — barring reality shows, but including those meant for OTT platforms — would be allowed in non-containment areas from June 1, with maximum 35 people per unit at a time. Shopping malls, restaurants, and hotels can reopen in these places from June 8.
According to the fresh orders, the Chandigarh administration is all set to open hotels, restaurants, religious places, and malls in the first phase of opening the nationwide lockdown, from June 8 onwards, as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India. People will also be allowed to venture out from from 5 am to 9 pm, from June 1 onwards.
While the Centre has allowed shops and businesses outside containment zones to resume from June 1 onwards, Maharashtra is unlikely to allow economic and other activities to resume in one go in Mumbai and other red zones, even outside designated containment zones. Keen to avoid a new flare-up of cases, the state has plans to permit standalone shops to remain open only on two or three days of the week for now. As part of the state’s soon-to-be released revised lockdown guidelines, sources said that people will be advised to restrict shopping to neighbourhood shops and avoid travelling to distant market places.
The fourth phase of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, which began on May 18, saw 85,974 COVID-19 cases till 8 am on Sunday, which is nearly half of the total cases reported in the country so far. Lockdown 4.0, which will end on May 31 midnight, has accounted for 47.20 per cent of the total coronavirus infection cases, number-crunching from the Union Health Ministry data reveals.
The lockdown, which was first clamped on March 25 and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on April 15 and stretched for 19 days till May 3, saw 31,094 cases. The third phase of the lockdown that was in effect for 14 days ending on May 17, recorded 53,636 cases till 8 am of May 18. India is the ninth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic as of now. (PTI)
During April and May, Kerala usually gets tourists from the north Indian states as a result of the school holidays there. That season has been completely washed away.
For a population that has been under strict lockdown for the past two-and-a-half months, the urge to travel remains high on priority. A simple perusal of the social media platforms will confirm that. While flying abroad or even to other states at the moment is fraught with dangers, travelling to driveable distances within the state is an idea that tour operators and hoteliers are willing to capitalise on, at least for the short-term. This could be within the city or to a neighbouring district. With adequate safety parameters and social distancing, such local travelling could be a boost for those on both the demand and supply chains. Read More
In its first clear message that the lockdown is being unwound, the Centre on Saturday issued ‘Unlock 1’ guidelines allowing a phased re-opening of most activities across the country, and limiting the lockdown only to containment zones for a month till June 30. It also cut the night curfew hours from 9 pm to 5 am (7 pm to 7 am till now).
Not only do the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allow re-opening of malls, hotels, restaurants and places of worship from June 8 in Phase I of unwinding, they also allow unfettered movement of goods and persons between states and within states.
A day before the fourth phase of a nationwide lockdown is lifted, the Ministry of Home Affairs Saturday issued fresh guidelines for the phased re-opening of all activities outside containment zones for the next one month. The Centre has announced the reopening in three phases, with the first one allowing hotels, shopping malls, and religious places to open. Night curfew will continue, however, the timings have been relaxed from 7 pm- 7 am to 9 pm-5 am.
However, States will have the freedom to put suitable restrictions on the allowed activities if they deem it necessary for the containment of the coronavirus outbreak. Besides, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will issue a standard operating procedure for all these activities which are now being permitted.
Here's what allowed and what's not:
Phase I
Phase 2
Phase 3
DEATHS
On Friday, the number of people who recovered from the COVID-19 disease in the country was, for first time, more than the number of new cases detected, meaning, more people walked out of the hospital, than those who walked in. But that happened only in the record books and not in reality.
Maharashtra had bunched together hundreds of previously unreported recoveries from its districts in the last several days, and reported it all together on Friday. The state usually reports between 700 and 1400 recoveries every day. On Friday, it reported 8,381 recoveries in a single day. That was more than double the usual number of recoveries that are reported from the entire country. Click here to read more
Following the central government’s latest guidelines on Unlock-1, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Saturday announced guidelines for Unlock-1 in the state with more relaxations and reliefs which will be implemented from June 1, 2020. They are as follows:
# No relaxations will be given in the containment zones except for essential goods and essential services.
# In areas other than the containment zone, trade and offices can be continued from 8 am to 7 pm.
# Curfew will be enforced in the entire state from 9 pm to 5 am in the state.
# State transport buses will run with 60 per cent seating capacity across the state.
# Permission to start city bus service in the entire state with 50 per cent capacity.
# Odd-even system for shops across the state to be withdrawn.
# Permission to start offices with rules of social distance.
# Motorcycles and scooters now allow two people to ride with a family member, wearing a mask is mandatory.
# Large vehicles-four wheel-SUV can carry driver plus three persons.
# Secretariat and government offices will start working normally from Monday, June 1.
# Banks across the state, including the containment zone, will also be doing full-fledged work from June 1.
# Hotels, restaurants, religious places, malls will not be operational untill June 8 as per Government of India guidelines.
# The health department will finalise and announce the state's containment zone areas by Sunday evening.
# The decision to start educational institutions-schools, colleges, coaching classes, tuition classes will be taken in the month of July as per the guidelines of the Central Government.
Dividing the entire state into eight zones, limited number of public transport services will be started in the state. Buses will be operated with a strength of 60% passengers. With the launch of public transport, e-Pass system has been cancelled in the state for public movement. Chennai and neighbouring districts including Kancheepuram, Chengalpet and Thiruvallur will not have bus services.
In the Greater Chennai region, all showrooms and bigger shops, barring shopping malls, will be allowed to function with 50% employees and a limited number of customers at a time. Barring the Chennai region and containment zones, corporate firms such as IT companies are allowed to function with full strength. Grocery shops will be allowed to open between 6 am to 8 pm and other shops and liquor outlets will be opened from 10 am to 8 pm.
Tamil Nadu, with 21,184 cases, is among the states worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions on public worship centres, shopping malls, educational institutions, international flights services, tourist activities in Nilgiris and Yercaud, cinema halls, swimming pools, bars, auditoriums and similar gatherings, community and political gatherings and meetings in auditoriums, inter-state bus services will continue. Section 144 will continue across the state.
From June 8, all non-AC restaurants and tea shops are allowed to serve customers with 50% strength. Wedding will be allowed with 50 people and funerals with 20 across the state.
Public transport will resume in Tamil Nadu with a limited number of services from June 1. However, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpet districts, where the maximum number of cases are being reported currently, will not have public transport services. Private carriers will be allowed to operate in authorised routes alone, the announcement released by CM’s office said.
CM Palaniswami said the curfew was being extended till June 30 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 cases, under the State Disaster Management Act and following the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry.
A number of relaxations outside containment zones include allowing more employees at the workplace and permitting showrooms and jewellery shops to re-open. Malls will remain closed, the chief minister said.
The Tamil Nadu government Sunday announced the extension of the ongoing lockdown till the midnight of June 30 with more relaxations such as the partial opening of public transport and allowing more employees at workplaces. However, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the curbs on religious places, inter-state bus transport, and metro and suburban rail services will continue.
Indicating community spread of Covid-19 in Punjab, CM Amarinder Singh Saturday announced extension of lockdown in the state for another four weeks till June 30. “We had 23 new cases on Friday and 19 cases on Saturday which did not have a travel or contact history. These are the dangers of stage three of the virus. We have go be careful and cautious,” he said.
The CM added that lockdown 5.0 will be with more relaxations and the state was waiting for the guidelines from Centre to ease down the lockdown further. “We have allowed most of the activities from 7 am to 7 pm and the 7 pm to 7 am curfew was imposed by Centre. They will announce the guidelines tomorrow and then we will make our announcements.”
Hello and welcome to our Lockdown 5.0 LIVE blog.Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have announced the extension of the ongoing lockdown till June 30, albeit with more relaxations that included partially opening up public transport and allowing more employees at the workplace. Follow to get all the lastet updates from different states here.