After the central government released an order for the extension of the lockdown in the country, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal detailed lockdown 4.0 in the national capital region on Monday evening. The lockdown will last till May 31, and retains the no movement outside from 7 pm to 7 am except essential services rule.
In line with the Centre’s guidelines, Kejriwal announced certain prohibitions and relaxations which lockdown 4.0 will usher in.
Prohibitions
- Metro services will remain suspended
- Schools, coaching institutes, colleges and other education institutions will remain closed
- Hotels, cinema halls, malls, gyms, bars, swimming pools, auditoriums, assembly halls will be shut as well
- Social, religious and political gatherings remain barred
- Places of worship will remain closed
- Barber shops, spas and saloons are not allowed to open
- Anyone aged 65 or above and those 10 or less, pregnant women and people in high risk categories aren’t allowed to step outside
Relaxations
- Restaurants will be open only for home deliveries
- Sports complex and stadiums will be opened but no spectators will be allowed
- Auto rickshaws, e-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws will be allowed to run with one passenger only
- Taxis, cabs, grameen seva, phat-phat seva can resume with two passengers only (Drivers will be responsible to disinfect the seats and vehicles for the passengers)
- No car-pooling allowed but vehicles and individual movement is allowed. Four-wheelers with two people, and two-wheelers without pillion riders will be allowed.
- Buses to ferry 20 passengers. Passengers will be screened along with masks and social distancing at bus stops
- Government and private offices to open, although private offices have been asked to enforce work from home
- All markets to open in Delhi following an odd-even system meaning half the shops on one day and the rest on the next day
- Essential shops will remain open on all days
- Standalone shops to open as well. Shops owners will be held responsible for social distancing outside their shops
- Industries to open with staggered timing to reduce crowding
- Construction activities to be allowed as well but trans-border workers won’t be allowed
- Marriage gatherings with up to 50 guests and funerals with not more than 20 people allowed
Kejriwal, however, clarified that there will be no activities barring essential services in containment zones. Masks, on the other hand, will remain. mandatory
“Lockdown can’t stay permanently. We, Dilli sarkaar, used the time (lockdown period) to prepare ourselves,” he added saying the state government has equipped its hospitals with ventilators, PPE and testing kits in the period.
In his briefing, the chief minister also said that although the number of Covid-19 cases are high in the capital, the average number of deaths is lesser in comparison to other states and countries at the current infection rate. As per official data, Delhi has recorded 160 deaths till Sunday night.
As reported by The Telegraph Online, the death figures of Covid-19 patients put out by the Kejriwal government are significantly lower than the records of hospitals and municipal corporations. According to the state health bulletin, Delhi crossed the 10,000 cases mark on Sunday with nearly 4,500 recoveries.