As Lockdown 4.0 comes to an end, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued new guidelines called Unlock 1.0 allowing malls, restaurants, religious places to open in all areas except containment zones from June 8. It however prohibited opening of bars, gymnasiums, entertainment parks, cinema halls, metro rail and international air travel.
The permit system for inter-State movement of vehicles has been removed and there shall be no restriction on movement within and outside a State. If the local administration has to regulate movement in wake of a surge in number of COVID-19 cases, it will have to give wide publicity in advance regarding the procedure and restrictions to be followed. The grading of areas in red, orange and green zones is no longer in force but State government could identify buffer zones outside containment zones and impose restrictions.
The lockdown was imposed first on March 24 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its fourth phase is to end on May 31. On Saturday, MHA issued guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for “phased reopening” of areas outside the containment zones that will be effective till June 30. A decision to reopen schools an