Lockdown 4.0: Public spaces, flight ops, shopping malls to remain shut

Prohibition on all public gatherings, closure of schools, malls and restaurants, and suspension of flight and Metro services will remain in force till May 31 as the government on Sunday extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 spread.

The Union home ministry issued a nine-page guidelines listing the dos and don'ts during the lockdown 4.0 that has been clamped in the country to cut the chain of coronavirus infection.

The guidelines came soon after the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) extended the national lockdown beyond Sunday till May-end.

While it directed the states to decide the zones -- Red, Green and Orange -- taking into consideration the parameters shared by the Health Ministry, it says the "zones can be a district, or a municipal corporation/municipality or even smaller administrative units such as sub-divisions, as decided by states and UTs."

While there are different relaxations for different zones, certain countrywide prohibitions have been put in place irrespective of the zones.

It said all domestic, international air travel of passengers, except domestic air ambulance, will remain prohibited.

Metro rail services, schools, colleges will remain closed till May end, the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

Hotels, restaurants, cinema halls, malls, swimming pools, gyms will also remain shut even as all social, political, religious functions, and places of worship will be closed till May 31, it said.

The MHA also barred all social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other gatherings and large congregations.

"All religious places or places of worship shall be closed for the public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited."

While it put a complete ban on the above activities, it gave a number of relaxations across the country except in the Containment Zones.

The MHA said inter-state movement of passenger vehicles, buses will be allowed with mutual consent of states involved during the COVID-19 lockdown 4.0.

States and Union Territories have been given the powers for delineation of Red, Green and Orange Zones as per COVID-19 situation, the MHA said.

All shops, except those in containment zones and malls, will be allowed to open from Monday with staggered timings during lockdown 4.0, it said.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,872 and the number of total positive cases climbed to 90,927 Sunday morning, according to the Union Health Ministry.