Lockdown 5.0 | Unlock 1 - New Guidelines by MHA - RajRAS

With the current lockdown 4.0 ending on 31 May 2020, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued new guidelines to fight COVID-19 and for phased re-opening of areas outside the Containment Zones, today. These guidelines would come into effect from June 1, 2020 and would be effective till June 30, 2020. The current phase of re-opening, Unlock 1, will have an economic focus. The new guidelines have been issued based on extensive consultations held with States and UTs.

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Salient features of the new guidelines under Unlock 1

Lockdown measures would continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones. These will be demarcated by the State/ UT Governments, after taking into consideration the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry. Within the containment zones, strict perimeter control shall be maintained and only essential activities allowed.

All activities that were prohibited earlier would be opened up in areas outside Containment Zones in a phased manner, with the stipulation of following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), to be prescribed by the Health Ministry:

Phase I

The following activities will be permitted to open from June 8, 2020.

Religious places and places of worship for public;
Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services; and
Shopping malls.

MoHFW would issue SOPs for the above activities for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Phase II

Schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions etc., will be opened after consultations with States and UTs.
Based on the feedback, a decision on the re-opening of these institutions will be taken in the month of July, 2020.
MoHFW will prepare SOP for these institutions.

Phase III:

Based on the assessment of the situation, dates for re-starting the following activities will be decided:

International air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA.
Metro Rail.
Cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.
Social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions and other large congregations.

Hence, till that time above limited activities will remain prohibited throughout the country.

Night curfew in Unlock 1

Night curfew would continue to remain in force, on the movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities. However, the revised timings of the curfew will be from 9 pm to 5 am.

Lockdown limited to Containment Zones

Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in the Containment Zones till 30 June, 2020.
Containment Zones will be demarcated by the District authorities after taking into consideration the guidelines of MoHFW.
In the Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services.
States/ UTs may also identify Buffer Zones outside the Containment Zones, where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the buffer zones, restrictions as considered necessary may be put in place by the District authorities.

States/ UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the Containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary.

Unrestricted Movement of Persons and Goods

No restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit would be required for such movements.
However, if a State/ UT, based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation, proposes to regulate movement of persons, it would give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.

Protection for vulnerable persons

Vulnerable persons, i.e., persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, are advised to stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes.

Use of Aarogya Setu

The Aarogya Setu mobile application is a powerful tool built by Government of India to facilitate quick identification of persons infected by COVID-19, or at risk of being infected, thus acting as a shield for individuals and the community. With a view to ensure safety, various authorities are advised to encourage the use of the application.