NEW DELHI: India will now be under lockdown till May 17 with a complete ban on air travel, trains and inter-state road transport for the general public while educational institutions, theatres, malls, hotels and bars will also remain shut, the government announced on Friday but gave some relaxations for various business activities and people’s movement within areas with limited or no COVID-19 cases.
The decision to extend the lockdown by two more weeks after May 3, when the second phase of these restrictions was scheduled to end, came amid a continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for the deadly virus infection across various states, including in major metropolitans.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown from March 25, which was later extended by two more weeks to contain the virus spread.
However, several experts have cautioned that the lockdown is severely impacting economy and many rating agencies and industry bodies have forecast a sharp dip in the country’s economic growth rate for the current fiscal with a few even estimating an overall GDP decline.
All major urban centres including Delhi and Mumbai have been identified as ‘red zones’ or areas with large numbers of cases and therefore not much relaxations would be applicable to them beyond already permitted ones for those involved in essential services.
The Union Home Ministry said the lockdown measures so far have led to “significant gains” in the COVID-19 situation and some activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone.
Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone. This classification of districts is to be followed by states and UTs till May 10 and the will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier if required. Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones in the new classification. (PTI)
