In a late evening decision, lockdown in India has been extended for two more weeks beginning from May 4. The decision comes hours after the government divided districts and across the county into Red, Green and Orange zones. The lockdown, as per the new orders will continue till May 17, 2020.
In a piece of good news, there will be considerable relaxation given to the district falling in Green and Orange Zones, the government said.
Different Zones
All the major metro cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been kept under the red zone in a revised list shared on Thursday.
Cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws; taxis and cab aggregators; intra-district and inter-district buses; barber shops, spas and salons in the red zones will remain closed. Manufacturing units of essential goods like drugs and medical devices, IT hardware and the jute industry will be allowed to open with 33% staff.
The ones with considerably fewer cases of the respiratory infection fall in orange zones. In the Orange zones, app-based taxi services will be permitted with one driver and one passenger. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only.
Districts with no coronavirus cases come under the green zone. In the Green Zones, all activities will reopen except those banned across the country. But in these areas, buses can operate with upto 50% seating capacity.
There are as many as 130 red zones, 284 orange zones and 319 green zones across the country. Like normal lockdown rules, the ban on travel will continue till May 17.
Armed Forces to Express Gratitude
In other news, the Indian Armed Forces will conduct fly pasts, light up the ships at sea and shower petals on hospitals on May 3 to thanks the COVID-19 warriors across the country. The news was shared by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.
Army, Air Force and Navy to show gratitude to Covid warriors on 3rd May.
— Manu Pubby (@manupubby) May 1, 2020
Fly pasts, ships at sea and military bands to perform.
The “gesture of special gratitude” will consist of the Air Force conducting fly-pasts “from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (and) from Assam in the northeast to Kutch in Gujarat”. Meanwhile, the ships will light up on the shores, helicopters will shower petals on hospitals, army bands will play outside medical buildings in most districts
