The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday has sent out latest guidelines in which it said all activities will be relaxed in phased manner outside containment zones.

Within containment zones, the lockdown restrictions will continue till June 30, it said.

In the first phase starting June 8, some activities will be opened including religious places, hotels, restaurants, other hospitality services and shopping malls.

"Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) will issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)  for the above activities, in consultation with the central Ministries/ Departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19," a MHA statement said.

 

 

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In the second phase, schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions, etc will be opened after consultation with States and UTs, it said. Based on the feedback, a decision on the re-opening of these institutions will be taken in July.

MoHFW will prepare SOP in this regard, in consultation with the Central Ministries/ Departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing.

In the third phase, based on the assessment of the situation, dates for re-starting of activities including international air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA, Metro Rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will be decided.

 

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The MHA also said night curfew will continue and movement of individuals will remain strictly prohibited between 9PM and 5AM throughout the country, except for essential activities.

Local authorities will issue authorities in the entire area of their jurisdiction, under appropriate provisions of law.

But, there will be no restriction on inter-State and inter-State movement of persons and goods. "No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements," it said.

However, if a State/ UT, based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation, proposes to regulate movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.

"Movement by passenger trains and Shramik special trains, domestic passenger air travel, movement of Indian nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad, evacuation of foreign nationals, and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per SOPs issued," the MHA said.

It also said no State/ UT will stop the movement of any type of goods/ cargo for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries.

In the containment zones, only essential activities will be allowed and there will be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required, it said.

Apart from these, the other directives remain the same, such as face coverings, social distancing, limited number of guests in marriages and persons in a funeral, and consumption of liquor, paan, gutka and tobacco in public places is prohibited.

Some additional directives for work places include -- Work from home as far as possible, staggering of work/ business hours in offices, shops, markets and industrial and commercial establishments, provision of thermal scanning, hand wash, frequent sanitisation of entire workplace -- and all persons in charge of work places to ensure adequate distance between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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