Centre extends nationwide Coronavirus lockdown in containment zones till June 30

In a massive decision, Centre on Saturday, announced that the nationwide- Coronavirus lockdown in containment zones has been extended till June 30, 2020. The Centre has also announced that the re-opening of the areas outside containment zones will be done in three phases. India's active cases stand at 86,422, recovered cases at 82,369 with 4,971 fatalities. 

Centre extends lockdown till June 30

Phasewise reopening

The MHA has mentioned that the lockdown will be eased outside containment zones in three phases. The MHA has stated that all activities will be allowed in these areas except certain activities which will be allowed to restart in phases. Here are the phase-wise re-opening: 

• Phase 1 : From June 8 , religious places, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls will be allowed to reopen but will have to adhere to SOPs which will be issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW)

• Phase 2 : Schools, colleges and other educational institutions will be opened in consultation with respective states and Union Territories from July 2020. An SOP will be issued for the same by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW)

• Phase 3 : After further assessment of the prevalent COVID-19 conditions, resuming of international air travel, metros, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, social/political/sports/religious/cultural functions will be decided.

MHA amends guidelines

As per the new guidelines, night curfew timings have been amended to 9:00 PM to 5 AM throught the nation, except for essential services. Moreover, the MHA has stated that lockdown in containment zones will continue till June 30, allowing only essential activities and no movement of people in or out of it. States have also been allowed to allow certain activities outside containment zones or impose restrictions.

The MHA has also ordered states to ensure no restriction in movement of goods and persons intra-state and inter-state. However, it has added that if any state or UT restricts such a movement, it will widely publicise it. Movement of Shramik and passennger trains, domestic air travel, movement of staranded Indians abroad will continue as per SOPs. The MHA has encouraged the use of Aarogya Setu app in workplaces , but not mandated it.  

Here is the MHA order:

Previous lockdown extension

On May 17, the Centre announced the extension of India's nationwide Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown till May 31.  The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has released its detailed guidelines for the extended lockdown, allowing the delineation of red, green and orange zones as per state and UT governments, taking the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) into consideration. Since then, several states have released their own state guidelines - most easing the lockdown.