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India continued to open at a varied pace as its States battled the raging pandemic at different stages. On Saturday, Mumbai and Delhi began unlocking, while Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya extended the lockdown, albeit with some relaxations. A couple of days back, Karnataka, too, continued with the restrictions.
From Monday, the National capital Delhi will open up further. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that malls and markets will be opened on an odd-even basis; metro services will run with 50 per cent capacity and e-commerce services will operate fully.
That apart, Group A staff of government offices will be allowed to function at 100 per cent capacity and Group B at 50 per cent capacity. On the other hand, private offices will be allowed to function with 50 per cent staff.
This is the second straight week that Delhi has relaxed the lockdown rules, which was initially imposed on April 19. The capital reported 400 cases in the last 24 hours and the positivity rate has dropped to 0.5 per cent.
Five-level unlock plan
The Maharashtra government announced that it will lift Covid lockdown restrictions from Monday (June 7) through its five-level unlock plan based on the level of severity of Covid positivity in the concerned district.
Mumbai city falls under level-3 of the unlock plan. In effect, for the financial capital, the essential and non-essential shops will operate at fixed timings, but restaurants and theatres will run at 50 per cent capacity.
TN extends curbs
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu — which still registers the highest number of new infections in the country — extended the lockdown for another week till June 14.
At the same time, the State has announced two sets of relaxations depending on the intensity of the infections. In 11 districts, considered hotspots, the only relaxation is that standalone grocers, meat/fish stalls, roadside fruit and flower vendors will be allowed to sell from 6 am to 5 pm. In other districts which have managed to reduce the cases, security agencies, electricians, plumbers are allowed to operate.
Automobile mechanic shops, electrical goods, hardware stores, stationary shops are allowed to open. Taxi/auto can operate with e-registration, the State government release said.
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