Telangana govt extends lockdown in state till June 30; no bar on inter-state movement

The Telangana government on Sunday, May 31 announced that the extension of the lockdown in the state till June 30. The existing lockdown guidelines in the non-containment zones in the state shall be extended until June 7 with certain modifications. For instance, the night curfew will apply from 9 pm to 5 am and no shops or establishments barring for pharmacies and hospitals shall remain open beyond 8 pm. Moreover, there shall be no restriction on the inter-state movement of persons.

Effectively, shopping malls and places of worship shall remain closed until further notice in the state despite being classified as permitted activities by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the case of containment zones, the restrictions imposed currently will continue to prevail till June 30. At present, there are 2,499 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Telangana out of which 1,412 patients have been discharged while 77 deaths have been reported.

Read: Telangana Health Dept Says 'No Community Transmission Of COVID -19', Cases At 2,499

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MHA unveils fresh guidelines

On May 30, the MHA announced the lockdown would be extended in containment zones nationwide till June 30. Only essential activities shall be permitted in containment zones which will be demarcated by the district authorities. Moreover, states may identify buffer zones outside the containment zones, where new cases are more likely to occur. Furthermore, the MHA issued guidelines for the phased reopening of prohibited activities outside the containment zones.

In phase 1, places of worship, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality services will be allowed to open from June 8 in accordance with the SOP released by the Ministry of Health. The second phase entails that a decision on the reopening of educational institutions will be taken in July based on the feedback from the consultation process involving all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the MHA will declare the dates for the restarting of international air travel of passengers, Metro rail services, cinema halls, gyms, swimming pools, entertainment parks, bars, halls, and all types of gatherings according to the assessment of the situation. However, the states have been empowered to prohibit certain activities outside the containment zones as per the COVID-19 situation.  

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Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India Plans Phased Reopening As Cases Reach 1,82,143