As India continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, on Saturday the Home Ministry released a fresh set of guidelines that will be in effect till September 30. The new phase of Unlocking brings with it a slew of relaxations, including inter and intra state travel and metro rail transit.
The lockdown will however continue with the same restrictions in areas that are containment zones. While several states have tried to impose a variety of lockdown measures in order to curb the virus, the Home Ministry guidelines state that this will no longer be possible.
"State/ UT Governments shall not impose any local lockdown (State/ District/ sub-division/City/ village level), outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the Central Government," reads the notice.
According to the guidelines, these zones will be demarcated by the district authorities at the micro level. "Strict containment measures will be enforced in these containment zones and only essential activities will be allowed," the MHA clarifies.
As per the guidelines, these Containment Zones will be notified on the websites of the respective District Collectors and by the states and union territories and the information will also be shared with the Health Ministry.
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.
