Unlock 3: Yoga centres, gyms to reopen, no night curfew

The Centre on Wednesday issued guidelines for the third phase of lifting curbs imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), announcing that gyms and yoga centres can reopen from August 5, while also removing a night curfew that restricted movement of people outside containment zones.

The Union home ministry issued the plan, “Unlock 3”, prepared after receiving feedback from states and in consultation held with central ministries and departments, to open up more activities outside containment zones, an official statement said.

The new guidelines, which will come into effect from August 1, said that a strict lockdown will continue in containment zones – areas that report clusters of the disease – till August 31 and asked authorities to maintain strict perimeter control in such zones.

The latest guidelines said that schools, colleges, theatres, swimming pools, metro rail, cinema halls and bars will continue to remain closed. Social, political, religious, sports and entertainment functions and other large congregations will also not be allowed.

“Dates for opening of these will be decided separately, based on the assessment of the situation,” the home ministry said.

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The decision to keep schools, colleges and coaching institutions closed till August 31 was taken after consultations with states and Union Territories, the statement said. The guidelines added that online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged.

Independence Day functions will be allowed in all states, districts and municipalities with social distancing norms and health care protocols such as wearing of masks. Separate detailed guidelines were issued regarding this on July 21, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the Indian flag at the Red Fort and deliver the annual speech.

The fresh guidelines said that international flights, which are currently permitted under the Vande Bharat mission, will further open up in a calibrated manner at a later stage.

The phased reopening of activities – termed as “Unlock” – has already led to the resumption of several commercial activities, including restricted domestic aviation and train operations apart from restaurants, hotels, saloons and malls in the past two months. However, the government has been wary of other activities that are likely to result in mass gatherings, including Metro rail operations, entertainment parks and cinema halls.

After 68 days under a lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19, the country began opening up widely in May, but with significant restrictions. On Wednesday, India reported 52, 406 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 1,582,730. There have been 34, 974deaths from the infectious disease so far.

The latest guidelines said that states could decide on further restricting activities outside containment zones. “States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the Containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary. However, there shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements,” the guidelines said.

Like the previous guidelines for Unlock 1 and Unlock 2, the latest guidelines also advised those vulnerable (persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years) to stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health care purposes.

The guidelines also said that the use of the Aarogya Setu mobile app should be encouraged.

According to a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Niti Aayog’s Dr VK Paul, who plays an important part in shaping the Centre’s Covid-19 strategy, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) were separately consulted on what areas or activities were to be opened. “Both of them were very clear that Metro, schools and other places of mass gatherings can’t be opened at this crucial hour,” said the official involved in planning the guidelines.

The Union health ministry’s officials were skeptical about allowing activities with big crowds. According to another official, reopening of cinema halls was actively considered but it was struck down as the government maintained that a maximum 25% of the capacity can be filled up in a theatre — an offer that looked commercially unviable for many cinema hall owners.

During the interactions between state officials and the Cabinet secretary, many states opposed opening schools at this juncture. The school education department, which spoke to parents’ bodies, reverted to the home ministry that many parents want schools to open only after a Covid-19 vaccine is out in the market.

The opening of gyms, according to the two officials, saw long discussions, as health ministry officials considered them places that will have a lot of aerosol due to intense physical activities. While the Centre finally allowed gyms to reopen from August 5, the health ministry will come up with stringent social distancing norms and hygiene rules, the officials added.

With inputs from Saubhadra Chatterji