India issues fresh guidelines for COVID-19 lockdown
Air, rail services remain suspended, compulsory to wear mask in public places
Dubai: The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued detailed guidelines for the extended lockdown in the country. All kinds of public transport, including air travel and train services, will remain suspended till May 3, the guidelines said.
Public places like cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools and bars will also be shut till May 3, the new lockdown period declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
All social, political, sports, religious functions, religious places, places of worship will remain closed to the public during the period.
■ Domestic and international air travel
■ Trains, buses, metro rail services
■ Educational, training centres
■ Cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, sports complexes
■ Social, political, sports gatherings
■ Places of worship
What will stay open
■ Hospitals, nursing homes and clinics
■ Medical laboratories and pharmacies
■ Medical research labs, institutions carrying out COVID-19 related research
■ Manufacturing units of drugs, medical devices
■ Movement of all medical and veterinary personnel, scientists, nurses
Other activities
■ All agricultural and horticultural activities to remain functional
■ Operations of fishing industry to remain open
■ Operations of tea, coffee and rubber plantations, with maximum of 50 per cent workers to function
■ Milk processing plants, animal husbandry farms to stay open
■ Banks, ATMs to remain functional
■ Postal services, utilities to function
Education
■ Educational institutions to remain closed
■ Online teaching encouraged
■ Maximum use of Doordarshan and other educational channels to be made for teaching purposes
It is now compulsory to wear a face mask in public places, and spitting in public places is punishable with a fine.
According to the guidelines, work under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act will be allowed with labourers practicing social distancing and wearing masks, and the movement of goods and empty trucks will be allowed for delivery and pick-up.
Permission has also been given to the movement of vehicles of e-commerce companies.
Self-employed services
Services provided by self-employed persons, like electricians, IT repairpersons, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters are allowed.
Some industries, including hardware manufacturing, unit of packaging material, and other industries in the special economic zone (SEZ) with access control will also be allowed to operate during the extended lockdown.
The government said that IT and IT-enabled services with up to 50 per cent strength, courier services, data and call centres for government activities only will be allowed to operate.
Similarly, food processing industries and brick kilns operating in rural areas outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities are allowed. Manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control in SEZs and export-oriented units industries, estates and industrial townships are also allowed to operate.
These establishments shall make arrangements for their workers within their premises as far as possible and or adjacent buildings along with the implementation of standard operating protocol given by the government, the guidelines said. The industries will also have to arrange transport by ensuring social distancing for the employee.
Construction projects
The Centre has also given permission to operate construction projects within the limit of municipal corporations, where workers are available on site and no workers are required to being brought from outside.
All workplaces have been directed to have adequate arrangements for temperature screening and provide sanitiser at convenient places on the premises.
Government offices, ministries, departments, and offices under their control, are to function with 100 per cent attendance of officers of deputy secretary level and above while 33 per cent of the remaining officers and staff can attend as per requirement.