Lockdown extended in Covid-19 containment zones till 31 July

The guidelines will be implemented after 30 June when the current lockdown period will get over.

Political, academic, cultural, religious, sporting events and other large congregations continue to be prohibited in 'Unlock 2' phase, MHA said.

Night curfew shall continue to remain in force, between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, except for essential activities and other relaxations across the country, including containment ones.

The government said it has decided to reopen more activities across the country in a calibrated manner from 1 July in areas which are outside Covid-19 containment zones.

In addition to that, MHA also clarified lockdown will continue to remain in force in containment zones till 31 July and only essential activities to be allowed.

However, there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of people and moving of goods. The MHA guidelines also said that no separate permission or approval or e-permit will be required for such movement.

These containment zones will be demarcated by the the district authorities after taking consideration the guidelines of Ministry of Health & Family. All these containment zones will be notified by the district collectors on the website.

"There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services," the MHA statement said.

There shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions as required, the statement stated.

Activities in the containment zones shall be monitored strictly by States/UT authorities.

MHA guidelines also said that states and UTs have to identify the buffer zones outside containment zones where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the buffer zone, restrictions that are considered necessary may be put in place by district authorities.

Apart from the containment zones, schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions, International flights, metro rail, cinemas, gyms, pools, religious gatherings among others to remain prohibited till 31 July. All other activities will be permitted outside the containment zones.

Dates for re-starting the above activities may be decided separately and necessary.

In addition to this, several other states governments had also extended lockdown in their respective dates beyond the 30 June deadline. Among them are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where the Covid-19 cases are on a rise.

The extension of the lockdown comes in the backdrop of novel coronavirus outbreak due to which the country is witnessing single-day highest number of cases for the past few days. On Monday, the number of coronavirus patients in India increased by 19,459 in past 24 hours, taking the tally to 5,48,318, according data released by the Union Health Ministry today morning.

Moreover, with 380 more patients succumbing to the covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the death toll increased to 16,475. The number of active cases stands at 2,10,120, while 3,21,722 people have recovered. The recovery rate stands at 58.67%.