Haryana, Odisha, Telangana extend lockdown; UP, J-K ease Covid curfew

Haryana, Odisha and Telangana were the latest among states and Union Territories to extend the COVID-induced lockdown, while Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday announced a partial easing of restrictions in districts with less active cases, though night curfew and weekend shutdown will remain.

Many states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa, have extended the lockdown or restrictions for a week to a fortnight in June, while some of them like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have also announced a certain relaxation in the curbs due to a decline in new cases and positivity rate.

While shops have been permitted to open for more hours, at some places malls have also been allowed to function on certain conditions. However, education institutions will continue to remain closed.

India recorded a single-day rise of 1,65,553 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in 46 days, taking the country's infection tally to 2,78,94,800, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday morning.

The country had recorded 1,61,736 infections on April 13.

The daily positivity declined to 8.02 percent, remaining below the 10 per cent-mark for the sixth consecutive day.

The death toll due to the disease climbed to 3,25,972 in the country with 3,460 fatalities being recorded in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The new fatalities include 832 from Maharashtra, 492 from Karnataka, 486 from Tamil Nadu, 198 from Kerala, 155 from Uttar Pradesh, 148 from West Bengal, 125 from Punjab, 122 from Delhi and 104 from Andhra Pradesh.

The Telangana Cabinet extended the ongoing lockdown by another 10 days from Monday with relaxations from 6 am to 1 pm every day, a statement from Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao's office said.

Odisha Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said the lockdown has been extended by 16 more days in the state till June 17 and is primarily aimed at "restricting movement of people and not goods.

"All restrictions and exemptions of the previous lockdown will be implemented in the third phase, too," he said.

Addressing a virtual press conference on Sunday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said even though the COVID-19 situation has improved in the state, it has been decided to extend the "Mahamari Alert/Surkshit Haryana" lockdown till 5 am on June 7 with some more relaxations.

Shops can now remain open from 9 am to 3 pm as per the odd-even system. Malls will now be allowed to open from 10 am to 6 pm, subject to certain conditions including a cap on visitors depending on the size of the premises.

Colleges, industrial training institutes and schools will remain closed till June 15, the chief minister said, adding night curfew will continue from 10 pm to 5 am.

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary R K Tiwari announced a relaxation of lockdown in the state with certain activities allowed from June 1.

However, 20 districts including the state capital Lucknow will not benefit from this as they have more than 600 active cases.

He said shops and markets outside containment zones will be allowed to open from June 1 onwards from 7 am to 7 pm but weekend lockdown, as well as night curfew from 7 pm to 7 am, will remain.

The districts where the curbs have not been eased include Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly and Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Jammu and Kashmir administration has also started the unlock process in the Union Territory, limiting the corona curfew to night hours and weekends only.

However, educational institutions would continue to remain shut till June 15, while all cinemas, multiplexes, clubs, gyms, spas, massage centres and paid parks have been directed to remain closed till further orders.

Issuing the 21-page guidelines, Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said corona night curfew would remain imposed in all 20 districts from 8 pm to 7 am and there will be weekend curfew from 8 pm Friday till 7 am.

The five Kashmir districts Pulwama, Anantnag, Baramulla, Kupwara and Budgam - have been put in the 'red zone' along with some areas, while the rest 15 are in 'orange'. The order said public transport and malls will not function in the red zone.

Barber shops, saloons, parlours and liquor shops are permitted to open three days a week , except on Saturdays and Sundays.

Maharashtra government has extended lockdown-like restrictions by another 15 days from June 1, though it has indicated some easing of curbs. The Goa government has also decided to extend the ongoing "corona curfew" by another week till June 7.

Staggered work hours, frequent testing and monitoring of COVID appropriate behaviour will mark the resumption of manufacturing and construction activities as Delhi reopens partially from Monday, even as other lockdown restrictions continue till June 7.

Though the Madhya Pradesh government has approved a phase-wise unlocking of the "corona curfew" restrictions beginning June 1, the weekend lockdown will continue to be in force across the state.

Also, there will be separate sets of unlocking guidelines for the places having the COVID-19 positivity rate above and below five per cent, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said.

The state government on Sunday allowed 100 per cent attendance for officers and 50 per cent for other employees in its offices.

In the Northeast, most of the states have extended the curbs.