New Delhi
India said on Friday it would extend its nationwide coronavirus lockdown for another two weeks after May 4, but would allow “considerable relaxations” in lower-risk districts marked as green and orange zones.
Some activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, regardless of the zone, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement. Those include travel by air, rail and metro and inter-state movement of people by road; and schools and colleges, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, cinema halls and places of worship will remain closed.
There will be no restriction on movement of goods between states and on the manufacturing and distribution of essential items, the ministry said.
Authorities are trying to chart a path out of the world’s biggest lockdown, which they credit with preventing an exponential surge in infections and which Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed on March 25.
Authorities have mapped the country into red, orange and green zones, depending on the severity of the outbreak. Health Secretary Preeti Sudan detailed the plan in a letter to regional officials that was seen by Reuters. The biggest and most economically-important cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad, would all be classed as red zones, infection hotspots, and kept under strict lockdown.–Agencies
