Lockdown 3.0: Restrictions Extended For 2 More Weeks, Certain Relaxations In Green, Orange Zones

Activities including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road; running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions will remain prohibited across India.

Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Ending all speculations, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday announced extension of nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus by another two weeks (14 days). In an order, the Union home ministry said the decision has been taken after a comprehensive review of the COVID-19 situation. Earlier, the imposed lockdown was set to end On May 3 (Sunday), but the recent announcement by the government extends the restrictions across the country till May 17. The decision to extend lockdown beyond May 3 was taken after a comprehensive review meeting by the Central government. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to further extend the lockdown for a period of two weeks beyond May 4, 2020, an official statement said.

#Coronavirus : Govt Extends Nationwide #Lockdown By 2 Weeks; Restrictions To Continue Till May 17

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/c3IPqdOnPk pic.twitter.com/z4VCewpTN4 — ABP News (@ABPNews) May 1, 2020

However, the Lockdown 3.0 comes with districts relaxations for districts depending upon the criticality of the Covid-19 outbreak. The entire country has been divided into Red, Orange and Green zones. The Red zones have been categorised as Covid-19 hotspots by the government where only essential activities will be allowed. Some activities would still remain completely prohibited despite the classification. Activities including travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road; running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions will remain prohibited across India, irrespective of the zone. E-commerce has also been allowed to resume operations and deliver non-essential goods in Green and Orange zones. Even buses have been allowed to operate in Green zones, but only with 50 per cent of their capacity.

#Lockdown3 guidelines (contd...)#lockdownextension #IndiaFightsCOVID19 pic.twitter.com/5JyPm1RAtm

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) May 1, 2020

As per the MHA guidelines, taxis and cab aggregators will be allowed to operate in Green and Organde zones, but only with one driver and one passenger in the vehicle. The Green zones are the districts with no confirmed cases of Coronavirus or no confirmed case in the last 21 days. Those districts that are neither defined as Red nor Green shall be classified as orange zones. WATCH REPORT | Nationwide Lockdown Extended Till May 17 The decision to extend the lockdown for next 14 days comes after a series of meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his cabinet ministers over the last few days. Earlier in the day, PM Modi held meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and others to chalk out a plan to extend the nationwide lockdown.