NEW DELHI (AFP): The Indian government has extended the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown by two weeks starting May 4, but with some easing of restrictions.
The lockdown imposed near the end of March has caused misery for millions of workers in India and dealt a major blow to Asia’s third-biggest economy.
The Indian Home Ministry today (Friday) said in a statement that in view of significant gains in the COVID-19 situation, areas with few or no cases would see considerable relaxations.
In this regard, the Indian government has divided India into colour zones. Restrictions are being lifted largely according to what colour an area has been assigned in a government rating system.
According to the Indian Home Ministry, India is split into red zones with “significant risk of spread of the infection”; green zones with zero cases or no confirmed cases in the past 21 days; and those in between as orange.
The statement informed that red and orange zones will continue to have intensified contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and no movement in or out except for medical emergencies and the supply of essential goods and services.
“New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, would all be classed as red zones, infection hotspots, and kept under strict lockdown,” the statement said.
The statement also informed, “Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road will remain banned. Schools and colleges, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, cinema halls, and places of worship will remain closed.”
The Indian government has also issued an order to provide special trains for stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists and students to return home.
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