Lockdown 5? | Modi Govt. Lockdown likely to be Extend in India

Hyderabad: With just 2 days left for the lockdown 4.0 to end, the Modi Government is likely to allow states and Union territories to decide on future restrictions. speculations are rife that the Narendra Modi-led Centre May extend the nationwide shutdown by two more weeks after May 31. If reports are to be believed, the next phase of lockdown will be termed as “lockdown extension in spirit”.

The next phase of Lockdown in India Might Look like….

• Two government panels, tasked with managing coronavirus crisis, have called for no further extension of the fourth-edition of lockdown, which is scheduled to end this weekend, according to a report published in The Economic Times.

• The panel suggested “continuation or even scaling up” of containment measures in worst-hit areas. Other places can see relaxation in containment measures.
• Centre may come out with a negative list prohibiting some activities across India.
• School, colleges, religious places and movie halls are expected to remain closed.
• Restrictions on international travel are likely to continue.
• The international flights may not resume before July and that the wait could be longer for educational institutions like schools and colleges to open.
• The lockdown measures are likely to be reviewed every fortnight until all the curbs are lifted.
• Centre’s role in the lockdown will be limited to putting out a progressively smaller list of activities not allowed nationally and laying down National Directives on Covid-19 Management like mandatory wearing of face masks and observing social distancing.
• Shops in markets and marketplaces are likely to be given some time for their sales to revive before malls are opened.
• The decision to open shops in malls, will be taken soon, after taking into account the guidelines of the health ministry.
• A discussion is also on whether eateries and restaurants can resume dine-in services, and if this call should be left to the state governments.
• It will take another week to 10 days for a fuller assessment of the impact of migration of lakhs of workers to their home states in recent weeks.
• The negative list, barring activities in areas with a high incidence of the disease, is expected to be further pruned.