By Administrator_India
New Delhi: Maharashtra announced a five-step unlock plan from Monday in a late-night order yesterday, a day after the state government’s U-turn on ease of restrictions announced by a minister earlier.
Here is your 10-point cheat sheet to this big story:
- The new guidelines come into effect from Monday with the districts of the state divided into five levels based on positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancies.
- The first level, for districts with less than five per cent positivity rate and below 25 per cent oxygen bed occupancy will be allowed to unlock fully with no restrictions. There are 18 districts that come under the first level of unlock. All restaurants, malls, salons, movie theatres, shops can open in districts under level 1.
- The second level is for districts with less than five per cent positivity and oxygen beds occupancy of 25 to 40 per cent. State capital Mumbai falls under this category. Film shoots will now be allowed to resume in the city.
- Shops can reopen in districts under level 2, however, malls, restaurants, gymnasiums, salons have been allowed partial relaxations. Marriages and gatherings have also been allowed with 50 per cent capacity. Offices, too, can reopen with full capacity in districts under level 2.
- Mumbai local trains, the densely populated city’s lifeline, will however not be operational yet. Buses in Mumbai will be allowed to operate at full capacity however passengers will not be allowed to travel standing up to avoid crowding the bus.
- Mumbai recorded a positivity rate of 5.56 per cent from May 28 to June 3, categorising the financial capital in the second level.
- Districts with 5 to 10 per cent positivity rate and 40-60 per cent oxygen bed occupancy will come under level 3, 10-20 per cent positivity rate and 60-75 per cent occupancy rate areas will be level 4 and areas having a positivity rate of 20 per cent and above and occupancy rate above 75 per cent will not see any relaxations.
- On Thursday evening, Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation minister Vijay Waddettiwar announced the unlock process in the state. But soon after the minister made these announcements, a clarification came from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office that no decision had been taken yet.
- The Chief Minister’s Office had said restrictions in the state “have not been removed” and proposals for new rules are still under consideration.
- Maharashtra, the worst-hit state due to the deadly coronavirus, reported over 14,000 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total infections in the state to over 58 lakhs.
