The Unlock 5.0 guidelines issued in September by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will remain in force till 30 November, the Central government said on Tuesday. “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order today to extend the guidelines for re-opening, issued on 30.09.2020, to remain in force up to 30.11.2020,” a statement issued by the government read.
The MHA on Tuesday said the “guidelines for reopening” issued last month, permitting cinema halls, entertainment parks and swimming pools for sports persons to open, will continue to be applicable till 30 November in areas outside the containment zones.
“The essence behind graded reopening and progressive resumption of activities is to move ahead. However, it does not mean the end of the pandemic. There is need to exercise abundant caution by adopting COVID-19 appropriate behaviour by every citizen in their daily routine,” the MHA order said.
The Ministry said it had advised Chief Secretaries and administrators of all States and Union Territories that they “should endeavour to promote COVID-19 appropriate behaviour extensively at the grass roots level and take measures to enforce the wearing of masks, hand hygiene and social distancing.”
A countrywide lockdown in the wake of the pandemic was first imposed on March 24. It has been relaxed considerably over the past seven months with many economic activities allowed.
While most of the activities have been permitted, some activities involving large number of people have been allowed with some restrictions and subject to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) being followed regarding health and safety precautions. These activities include—metro rail, shopping malls, hotel, restaurants, hospitality services, religious places, yoga and training institutes, gymnasiums, cinemas; entertainment park, etc.
The guidelines said that international travel, except those permitted by the Centre, would remain shut while the State governments were given the flexibility to decide on reopening of schools and coaching institutions in a graded manner.
The lockdown shall continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones during the period.