Malls likely to open during lockdown 4.0
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Likely Relaxations
- Domestic flights, Metros, bus services and autos may be allowed to operate
- Barber shops, restaurants, local markets and home appliance repair shops may open
The next lockdown may be for two weeks and see norms further relaxed
As the government readies to announce anytime soon the guidelines for lockdown 4.0, indications are this phase is likely to see major relaxations.
These may include allowing the movement of autorickshaws, opening of shopping centres and malls and resumption of domestic flights, but with strict adherence to measures relating to social distancing, wearing of face mask and ban on spitting in public places.
Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the entire gamut of the government, including political leadership and administrative heads, was brainstorming to bring in some kind of normalcy after nearly two months of the unprecedented Covid-induced lockdown. The third phase of the lockdown will end tomorrow.
The sources indicated that the next phase of the lockdown would be of another two weeks and plans were afoot to allow operation of metro and bus services, barber shops, restaurants, local markets and home appliance repairing shops in green and orange zones. In case of districts under red zone, MHA sources said, the new guidelines were likely to specify localised “containment zones”. In the rest of the district, some relaxed norms may be provided to ease the existing strictness. To formalise these measures, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has held several rounds of meetings with senior officials of his ministry since yesterday.