Lockdown 5.0: States wants this when lockdown 4.0 ends

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Lockdown 5.0: States wants this when lockdown 4.0 ends
Lockdown 5.0: States wants this when lockdown 4.0 ends

New Delhi : Lockdown 4.0 is all set to end on May 31 and it is likely that India will enter into Lockdown 5.0 with more relaxations to bring economy back on track. While Centre is yet to announce the new guidelines, the states have raised demands that the restriction must be imposed to only containment zones.

This will enable more inter-state travel, more commercial activities and opening of religious places with social distancing norms.

And eventually schools will be reopened within a month.

In the ongoing phase of the lockdown, the Centre gave authority to the states to demarcate zones based on the severity of cases, and within a set of broad guidelines, allowed states to frame their own rules on the extent of activity allowed.

The Chhattisgarh government has decided that shops will be allowed to open six days a week with physical distancing from Thursday onwards. “Resumption of commercial-economic activities will also help in reviving economy and providing employment in the state. The idea of restarting maximum number of industries in the state was also discussed,” said a senior official of Chhattisgarh government.

In Jammu and Kashmir, a government official said that except shopping malls, multiplexes, restaurants, schools, colleges and gymnasiums, everything else will be allowed. “Quarantine rules by and large shall also remain the same, that is, 100 percent testing of returnees followed by 14 day administrative quarantine or paid quarantine. Following test reports, people are being dealt accordingly. Positive cases are being hospitalized and negative cases are being sent to home quarantine for 14 days,” he said.

In Rajasthan, the lockdown will be reduced to only two categories “curfew and non-curfew zone”. “In non-curfew zone, almost all activities will be allowed,” an official familiar with the decision, but who was not willing to be named, said. Also, the hours for public movement would be increased by two hours — 6am to 8 pm, which currently is 7am to 7pm. This, however, Gujarat government will continue with lockdown 4.0 restrictions in containment areas.

In Odisha, which has seen a spurt in Covid cases in the past fortnight with the return of migrant workers, lockdown 4.0 norms are likely to continue. “For us, the scope for allowing any new activities is limited as we want to see and stabilise the situation for at least a fortnight more,” said a state government official, who was not willing to be named.