The State government has resolved in principle to permit all shops except those in the red zones to do business from 7 am to 7 pm and to continue night curfew from 7 pm till 5 am. The date from when this would become operational would be decided in a couple of days, according to sources in the Chief Minister’s Office.
The decision has been taken at a review meeting on COVID-19 containment measures chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday.
It has also been decided to allow only a maximum of 50 persons to attend events like marriages and to let only three persons travel in cars and 20 in buses.
The Chief Minister directed that all government employees should be prepared to attend offices and follow the guidelines issued by the Central government at their work places. Orders in this regard will be issued soon.
Officials should give priority to mitigating the woes of migrant workers trekking to their native places in spite of transportation and other services provided to them, he added.
Buses to metros
The Chief Minister has given the green signal for resuming the RTC bus services from Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to bring back those stuck in the cities and gradually expand the inter-State services subject to the Centre’s guidelines. However, no passengers would be allowed to board the buses en route.
The Chief Minister has also permitted the operating of buses, including private vehicles, within the State and instructed the officials to work out the modalities for early restoration of operations.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said social distancing should be strictly maintained and passengers should be tested for the virus immediately on their arrival. It should be ensured that the passengers wore masks.
He wanted full details of the passengers to be gathered, including the exact places they were going, to enable contact tracing if required. Not more than 50% of the seats should be filled, he suggested. The date of resumption of bus services would be announced in about four days, he said.
