COVID-19 Lockdown 2.0: Know The Select Activities To Be Allowed After April 20

OB Bureau

April 15, 2020 12:46 pm

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued revised guidelines on the measures to be taken by ministries, government departments, state and Union Territory governments for the containment and prevention of the viral disease in the country during the lockdown 2.0 till May 3.

“Until April 20, every town, every police station, every district, every state will be evaluated on how much the lockdown is being followed. The extent to which the region has protected itself from coronavirus will be noted,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his address to the nation on Tuesday morning. “Areas that will succeed in this litmus test, which will not be in the hotspot category, and will have less likelihood to turn into a hotspot, may be allowed to open up select necessary activities from April 20.”

Here are the selected permitted activities which will be allowed from April 20:

Transportation of goods will be permitted without any distinction of essential or non-essential.
E-Commerce of both essential and non-essential items. Vehicles used for e-commerce operators will require necessary permissions.
Courier services.
IT and ITes offices to operate at 50 per cent capacity.
Print and electronic media.
Broadband, DTH and cable services.
Hotels, motels, homestays that accommodate stranded tourists.
Services provided by repairmen – carpenter, plumber, electrician, IT repair, auto mechanics, etc.
Farming operations, including procurement of agricultural products, agriculture marketing through notified Mandis and direct and decentralized marketing, manufacture, distribution and retail of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.
Activities of marine and inland fisheries.
Animal husbandry activities, including the supply chain of milk, milk products, poultry and live-stock farming; and tea, coffee and rubber plantations are allowed to be functional.
MNREGA works are allowed with strict implementation of social distancing norms
and face mask. Priority to be given to irrigation and water conservation work.

All health services (including AYUSH) will remain functional

Hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, telemedicine facilities.
Dispensaries, chemists, pharmacies, all kinds of medicine shops including Jan Aushadhi Kendras and medical equipment shops.
Medical laboratories and collection centres.
Pharmaceutical and medical research labs, institutions carrying out COVID-19 related research.
Veterinary Hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology labs, sale and supply of vaccine and medicine.
Authorised private establishments, which support the provisioning of essential services, or efforts for containment of COVID-19, including home care providers, diagnostics, supply chain firms serving hospitals.
Manufacturing units of drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical oxygen, their packaging material, raw material and intermediates.
Construction of medical/ health infrastructure including manufacture of ambulances.
Movement (inter and intra State, including by air) of all medical and veterinary personnel, scientists, nurses, para-medical staff, lab technicians, mid-wives and other hospital support services, including ambulances

Relaxation to industries

To provide an impetus to the rural economy, industries operating in rural areas, including food processing industries have been allowed from April 20.
Construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings and industrial projects in rural areas has been allowed during the lockdown.
Manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control have been permitted in SEZs, EoUs, industrial estates and industrial townships after implementation of SOP for social distancing.
Manufacture of IT hardware and of essential goods and packagings are also allowed.
Coal, mineral and oil production are permitted activities.

Financial Market & Insurance

The Reserve Bank of India, banks, ATMs, capital and debt markets as notified by SEBI will remain functional with a view to provide enough liquidity and credit support to the industrial sectors. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India and insurance companies are allowed to operate during the lockdown period.

Also Read: What’s Mandatory For Offices From April 20

Also Read: What’s Not Allowed After April 20