Govt mulls curbs post-coronavirus lockdown

India’s graded plan to re-emerge from the 21-day lockdown on April 15 - which has ignited feverish speculation - may include re-starting activities in areas which are not identified as COVID-19 hotspots.

However, it will not be business as usual, with the government mulling restrictions on places where people gather in large numbers such as shopping malls, cinema halls and religious shrines.

For train travel, passengers may have to cite a reason at the time of booking tickets. The government may also encourage work-from-home for certain sectors such as IT till the outbreak subsides.

But in some places, lockdown may be extended.

The Union Health Ministry indicated that the disease was in “localised community transmission” stage, with a large number of cases being found in some particular areas, amid indications that some areas, including in Uttar Pradesh, may not see full exit from the lockdown, reported PTI.

The meeting of the Union Cabinet, convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, also spent some time discussing how to end the lockdown and utilise the crisis to become self-dependent in the medical sector.

A key area of discussion was reopening government offices after the lockdown and speeding up pending reforms to kick-start the economy.

The Prime Minister noted that a graded plan to slowly open departments where hotspots are not existing should be made, an official release said.

Stating that lockdown measures and social distancing must go hand in hand, the Prime Minister said that it was essential to strategise for the emergent conditions once lockdown ends.

He asked the ministers to prepare a list of 10 major decisions and ten priority areas of focus once lockdown ends, while exhorting them to identify and implement pending reforms in their ministries.

A decision on restarting schools and colleges is expected to be taken on April 14, the last day of the lockdown.

On resumption of public transport, the discussion is centred on the risks involved in allowing movement of population on such a large-scale, which may allow for transmission of the disease.

On rail travel, passengers may be asked to furnish a valid reason for travel, but there could be difficulties on the implementation side.

Go Air and Air Asia had announced resumption of bookings from April 15, but with the option of free reschedules if the restrictions on air travel continue. Air India had stopped accepting bookings till April-end.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said a decision on resumption of flights post lockdown was yet to be taken. “If required, we will have to assess the situation on a case by case basis,” he said.