Asserting that the lockdown measures already in place across the State will continue to apply till May 7, the State government said these measures should continue to be in place to consolidate containment measures in the State.
As part of the measures, containment zones where there is incidence of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases would be demarcated by the authorities concerned and none of the activities allowed under the revised guidelines issued by the Central government will be permitted in these zones except delivery of essential services/goods.
There should be strict perimeter control in these zones to ensure that there is no unchecked inward/outward movement of people except for essential services, including medical emergencies. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued order for strict implementation of the lockdown guidelines stating that strict lockdown measures that had been implemented since March 22 played an important role in slowing down the spread of COVID-19 in the State.
The order comes in the light of Central government’s decision to permit additional activities from Monday after examination of the additional activities permitted under the Centre’s guidelines with reference to the local area. The Ministry of Home Affairs said in its directions that governments of States/Union Territories should not dilute the guidelines under the Disaster Management Act 2005 in any manner and should strictly enforce the same. “State/Union Territories governments may enforce stricter measures that these guidelines as per the requirement of local areas,” the directive said.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla cited the observations made by the Supreme Court claiming that it expected that all the concerned, including the State governments, would faithfully comply with the directives and orders issued by the Union government in letter and spirit in the interest of public safety. “The observations must be treated as directions of the Apex Court,” Mr. Bhalla said on Sunday.
Mr. Somesh Kumar said all religious places and places of worship would remain closed to prevent congregations leading to the spread of COVID-19 and religious congregations would be strictly prohibited. E-Commerce companies and app based/online platforms would not be permitted to deliver cooked food during the lockdown period as part of the containment measures.
