The lockdown 4.0 has come in effect from today. The 4th installment of lockdown has come as India is closing on 1 lakh cases. This time the number of zones have rose to 5 apart from the Red, Green, and Orange. The two new zones would be ‘Containment zone’ and Buffer Zone.
The classification of zones would now be done by states which was among the talks during the meetings with PM about giving them more autonomy. Containment zone meanwhile would be just a notch below the Red Zone with high risk. As per guidelines the adjoining blocks of the affected district or rural districts of the affected city will be considered as the buffer zone.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines following things would not be permitted irrespective of the zones:
- All domestic and international air travel of passengers, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes or purposes as permitted by MHA.
- Metro rail services would not resume across the country.
- Schools, colleges, educational/ training/ coaching institutions, etc. will remain closed. Online distance learning to continue to be permitted and encouraged
- Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, except those meant for housing health/ police/ Government officials/ healthcare workers/ stranded persons including tourists and for quarantine facilities; and running of canteens at bus depots, railway stations, and airports. Restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items.
- All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places. Sports complexes and stadia will be permitted to open; however, spectators will not be allowed.
- All social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/academic/cultural/ religious functions/ other gatherings and large congregations.
- All religious places/ places of worship shall be closed for the public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited.
Also Read: This Country’s Government Has Asked Single People To Find ‘Sex Buddy’ Amidst Lockdown
The activities that are allowed in Lockdown 4.0 except for the containment zones are:
- Interstate movement of passenger vehicles and buses with mutual consent of states and union territories involved.Intrastate movement of passenger vehicles and buses as decided by the states and union territories.
- Apart from standalone shops, market places have now been allowed to open.
- Barber shops, spas, and salons can also be opened.
- Interstate and Intrastate movement of medical professionals, nurses, paramedical staff, sanitation personnel, ambulances allowed without any restriction.
- Movement of all types of goods cargo including empty cargo vehicle.
- E-Commerce activities for non-essential goods are now permitted even in Red Zones.
- Cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, taxis, and cab aggregators like Ola, Uber have been allowed. The driver plus 1 and driver plus 2 rule would be applicable on two and four-wheelers respectively.
- A restriction limiting staff strength in offices to 33% has also been lifted.
- Sports complexes and stadiums will be permitted to open without spectators.
- Restaurants are now permitted to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items.
Night Curfew would be applicable from 7 PM to 7 AM as per the guidelines. One more thing that the guidelines say that the Aarogya Setup application is no longer mandatory for employees who attend office. One can download it for their own safety.
