On April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown to May 3, owing to the rising cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The decision to extend the lockdown came at the backdrop of the sudden surges in Coronavirus cases from the Tablighi Jamaat linked individuals.
Prime Minister Modi in his address said, “Till April 20, every area, district, city, state will be keenly observed and checked how the lockdown is being followed. Whichever area succeeds in this 1-week test, will get some conditional relief and relaxation.” As of April 20, the Chinese virus had infected 14,175 people and claimed 543 lives. Several State Governments had decided to extend the lockdown further or tighten the restrictions to flatten the curve of Coronavirus cases.
The NHAI has resumed toll collections on national highways.
Delhi
On Sunday, following a ‘comprehensive assessment’ of the Coronavirus outbreak in Delhi, the State Government had decided to provide no relaxation in restrictions until April 27. All Central government employees above the rank of Deputy Secretary have to attend their offices. The attendance for the lower staff has been kept at 30%. All such employees would be permitted on the basis of their identity cards.
Additional activities proposed with effect from 20.04.2020 are not allowed in Delhi until further orders. However, central govt employees above the rank of Deputy Secy will be attending their offices 100% & lower staff 30%: Additional Commissioner of Police, Special Branch #Delhi pic.twitter.com/Fkv2xIxp8w
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020
Maharashtra:
The Maharashtra Government had allowed some industries to operate in non-containment zones, keeping in mind the financial crunch that the state would face after the humanitarian crisis caused due to the Coronavirus outbreak was over. Stricter provisions had been imposed in hotspots.
Moreover, suburban trains have been kept closed to the public until May 3. “Door-to-door delivery of newspapers would not be allowed in Mumbai and Pune which are in the red zone,” CM Uddhav Thackeray informed.
Uttar Pradesh:
The Lucknow district administration and the Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration has announced that there would be no ease in restrictions until May 3 that have been imposed, amidst the Coronavirus lockdown. The collection of toll tax in the State will begin from today.
The movement of people has been restricted in the hotspots zones such as Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi, and 16 other districts. The Public Works Department (PWD) has been permitted to resume operations while 11 types of industries have been allowed to work in non-containment zones.
Telangana
On Sunday night, following a Cabinet meeting, the Telangana Government had decided to extend the lockdown in the State till May 7. Besides the extension of the lockdown for an additional four days, the State Government has ruled out any scope of relaxation in the current restrictions.
According to an ‘intensive survey’ conducted in the State, 95% of people are in favour of extending the lockdown without any ease. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the decision was taken after analysing the situation of Coronavirus outbreak in the State from all angles.
Punjab:
On April 19, the Chief Minister Office (CMO) of Punjab informed that there would be no ease in the curfew in the State. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has asked District Commissioners to enforce the curfew strictly in all districts with no relaxations during the month of Ramzan. Having said that, farmers and those involved in the procurement of wheat will be exempted from these restrictions.
Chief Minister @capt_amarinder Singh ruled out any relaxation in curfew, except as needed to ensure #COVID19 free procurement of wheat, till May 3. CM ordered strict enforcement of curfew in all districts by DCs, with no relaxation or concessions even during Ramzan.
— CMO Punjab (@CMOPb) April 19, 2020
Madhya Pradesh:
On Sunday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had informed the media that limited activities such as agriculture, procurement of wheat, MGNREGA, construction, road repairs, etc. would be allowed in some districts of Madhya Pradesh from April 20. “We have told industries to resume operations as per the Centre’s guidelines”, he was quoted as saying.
Chouhan, however, ruled out any ease in restrictions in the cities of Indore, Bhopal that account for 80% of the cases in the State. 26 out of 52 districts in Madhya Pradesh are affected by the Chinese virus.
Kerala:
On April 17, the Kerala Government had announced new lockdown guidelines wherein several districts in the State had been marked as red, orange (A & B), and green zones.
Areas such as Kasaragod, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur which are classified as ‘red zones’ will remain under complete lockdown till May 3. While regions that fall under Orange A category will have relaxations in restrictions from April 24, those in the Orange B Category will have partial lockdown from April 20 onwards.
Lockdown restrictions would be completely lifted in Kottayam and Idukki from Monday. Public transport has been allowed to ply in these areas. The Kerala Government had also allowed the opening of restaurants, local workshops, bookshops and short distance commute via two and four-wheelers. The Ministry of Home Affairs has, however, objected to the decision. The MHA has stated that allowing bus travel, pillion riders and passengers in cars are a violation of lockdown orders.
Kerala’s decision to allow opening of restaurants, book shops violation of lockdown measures: MHA
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 20, 2020
Haryana:
The Haryana Government has decided to permit limited industries to operate from April 20. No operations are allowed to continue in red zones. Passes of different colours will be issued to individuals to ascertain the nature of work.
For instance, blue passes will be issued to construction workers, red ones for essential workers and ordinary passes for business organisations. Eateries along highways will remain operational while farmers can transport their crops to the market on receiving a text message from the State Government.
Bihar:
On Sunday, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, has announced that work on 40,000 pending projects across 8,386 panchayats would resume from April 20 onwards. Reportedly, a total of 5 lac workers would be hired by the State Government for the pending projects. All Group A and B officers will have to report to their offices while 1/3rd Group C employees will work on a given day.
लॉकडाउन के दौरान 20 अप्रैल से निजी और सरकारी सेक्टर के दो दर्जन से ज्यादा उद्योगों को काम शुरू करने की जो छूट दी जा रही है, उससे सड़क निर्माण और मैन्युफैक्चरिंग में लगे कामगारों को बड़ी राहत मिलेगी।
— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) April 19, 2020
जिन तीन हजार उद्योगों को कुछ शर्तों के साथ अनुमति दी गई है, उनमें 900 से…….. pic.twitter.com/iuU64ElsGK
Karnataka:
The Karnataka government has extended the lockdown till April 21. A decision on extending the lockdown further or easing out some of the stringent restrictions would be made in a cabinet meeting on Monday. Malls and showrooms will remain closed in the State. 33% of employees will work in Government Departments and they will be ferried in contract buses. An incident commander has been appointed for each containment zone in the State.
Earlier, the government had permitted IT Companies to resume their operations with 1/3rd workforce and allowed two-wheelers to run on the roads from Aril 20 onwards. But, the decision was soon rolled back.
