On Saturday, the government of India released the details for Unlock 4.0. While there continue to be some restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, the government has now given the green signal to the reopening of metro rails as well as stating that there will be no separate restrictions of inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods.
The lockdown will continue to be implemented strictly in containment zones. There will however be no local lockdown in any state, outside of these zones.
According to the Home Ministry guidelines, metro rails will become operational from September 7 in a graded manner.
While large gatherings of any sort had earlier been prohibited, the government has also relaxed their stance on this somewhat. Under the new guidelines, with the stipulation that maskes be worn, and social distancing and other precautions are taken, "Social/ academic/ sports/ entertainment/ cultural/ religious/ political functions and other congregations will be permitted with a ceiling of 100 persons, with effect from 21st September 2020".
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While schools and colleges will continue to remain closed for the moment and regular classes will not be permitted at least till the end of September, in areas outside containment zones, "students of classes 9 to 12 may be permitted to visit their schools" on a "voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers." This will be subject to written consent of their parents/ guardians.
Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres (excluding open air theatre) and similar places will not be reopening at present.
According to the data provided by the Health Ministry, as of Saturday morning India has recorded more than 3.46 million COVID-19 cases. Of these, 752424 remain active, while 62550 people have passed away.
