Lockdown extended till June 30 in containment zones; night curfew from 9pm-5am

Team Udayavani, May 30, 2020, 7:18 PM IST

New Delhi: The centre on Saturday May 30 extended the lockdown in containment zones till June 30.

Termed ‘Unlock 1’, the Centre on Saturday issued fresh guidelines relaxing the nationwide lockdown, the fourth phase of which ends on May 31.

In the new directives, the Union home ministry said re-opening of prohibited activities in areas outside containment zones will be done in a phased manner from June 1.

The timings of the night curfew, which was from 7 pm – 7 am during the fourth phase has been changed to 9 pm – 5 am from June 1 onwards. Barring those in essential service movement of other people is strictly prohibited between 9 pm-5am.

During the first phase, religious places and places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants, other hospitality services, and shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8. The SOP in this regard will be released by MHA.

The second phase will allow reopening of schools colleges, educational/training/coaching institutions etc. It added that states and UTs can hold consultations with parents and other stakeholders on reopening of academic institutions from July.

Restrictions on intra-state and inter-state movement of people has been removed. However, states could regulate the movement of people but it should give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions.

The activities that will remain suspended in the first two phases of lockdown 5.0 includes:

-International air travel of passengers
-Operation of metro rail
-Cinema halls, Gymnasiums,Swimming pools, Entertainment parks, Theatres, Bars and auditoriums, Assembly halls and similar places
-Social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural/religious functions/ and other large congregations

A decision on opening these will be taken in the third phase of the lockdown, stated the guidelines.

States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the containment zones, or impose restrictions as deemed necessary, the new guidelines say.