Starting tomorrow, India will enter the 5th phase of the lockdown in the battle against Covid-19. The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday issued fresh guidelines for the phased re-opening of all activities outside containment zones for the next one month. The lockdown will be in place till 30th June in all the containment zones.
The centre has announced the reopening in three phases, with the first one allowing hotels, shopping malls, and religious places to open.
However, the states will have the freedom to put suitable restrictions on the allowed activities if they deem it necessary for the containment of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Besides, the ministry of health and family welfare will issue a standard operating procedure (SOP) for all these activities, which are now being permitted.
Though lockdown 4 is officially ending on Sunday night, both the central and state governments are yet to issue respective SOPs. This callous attitude of the government is highly condemnable. By now, the SOPs should have been ready and circulated to all the state governments. The government of India has given power to the states to put some restrictions if the state governments feel it is necessary for the containment of the Covid-19.
The government of Arunachal Pradesh should continue with the ban of inter-state movement. With the number of Covid-19 cases rising in neighbouring states like Assam and Nagaland, it has become more important to continue to seal the borders.
Further, the state government should not allow religious congregation till the spread of the virus is flattened nationally. All kinds of religious activities should be banned and all places of worship should be sealed.