The Centre on Monday extended the validity of its earlier guidelines for Covid-19 surveillance and containment till January 31, 2021, from December 31 this year, said a Home Ministry statement.

“While there has been a continuous decline in the active and new Covid-19 cases, there is need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution, keeping in view the surge in cases globally, and emergence of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom,” the statement said.

Accordingly, States and Union Territories have been asked to continue to demarcate containment zones, follow prescribed containment measures strictly in these zones, promote and strictly enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour, besides scrupulously following standard operating procedures for various permitted activities.

Strict measures

In demarcated containment zones, only essential activities will be allowed and there will be strict perimeter control to ensure there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, barring for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services.

Outside containment zones, cinema halls can function with 50 per cent capacity, but there cannot be more than 200 people at educational, religious or social functions.

While the States and UTs can impose local restrictions such as night curfew, they cannot impose local lockdowns at any levels without consultations with the Central government. In cities where the positivity rate is more than 10 per cent, the State government could consider implementing staggered office timings and other suitable measures to reduce the number of employees attending offices at the same time.