New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of COVID-19 lockdown till May 3, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued consolidated revised guidelines on measures to be taken by Ministries and Departments of Government of India, state and Union Territory governments and authorities for the containment of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the guidelines has made face masks compulsory and said some industrial and commercial activities will be opened from April 20 in those areas and districts which are not part of containment zones. Spitting in public places shall be punishable with a fine. All public transport remains suspended and schools and colleges will remain shut for the duration of the coronavirus lockdown till May 3.
1. Ofices of the Government of India, its Autonomous/ Subordinate Offices and Public Corporations shall remain closed.
Exceptions:
a. Defence, central armed police forces.
b. Treasury (including, Pay & Accounts Offices, Financial Advisers and field
offices of the Controller General of Accounts, with bare minimum staff),
c. Public utilities (including petroleum, CNG, LPG, PNG), power generation and
transmission units, post offices.
d. Disaster management and Early Warning Agencies
e. National Informatics Centre.
f. Customs clearance at ports/airports/land border, GSTN; and MCA 21
Registry with bare minimum staff.
g. Reserve Bank of India and RBI regulated financial markets and entities like
NPCi, CCIL, payment system operators and standalone primary dealers with
bare minimum staff.
2. Offices of the State/ Union Territory Governments, their Autonomous Bodies,
Corporations, etc. shad remain closed.
Exceptions:
a. Police, home guards, civil defence, fire and emergency services, disaster
management, and prisons.
b. District administration and Treasury (including field offices of the Accountant
General with bare minimum staff)
c. Electricity, water, sanitation.
d. Municipal bodies- Only staff required for essential services like sanitation,
personnel related to water supply etc.
e. Resident Commissioner of States, in New Delhi with bare minimum staff,
for coordinating Covid-19 related activities and internal kitchens operations.
f. Forest offices :Staff/ workers required to operate and maintain zoo, nurseries,
wildlife, firefighting in forests, watering plantations, patrolling and their
necessary transport movement.
g. Social Welfare Department, with bare minimum staff, for operations of
Homes for children/ disables/ senior citizens/ destitute/ women /widows;
Observation homes; pensions.
h. Agencies engaged in procurement of agriculture products, including MSP
operations.
i. `Mandis’ operated by the Agriculture Produce Market Committee or as notified
by the State Government.
The above offices (SI. No 1 & 2) should work with minimum number of employees. All
other offices may continue to work-from-home only.
3. Hospitals, Veterinary Hospitals and all related medical establishments, including
their manufacturing and distribution units, both in public and private sector, such as
dispensaries, chemist, Pharmacies (including Jan Aushadhi Kendra) and medical
equipment shops, laboratories, Pharmaceutical research labs, clinics, nursing
homes, ambulance etc. will continue to remain functional. The transportation for all
medical personnel, nurses, para-medical staff, other hospital support services be
permitted.
4. Commercial and private establishments shall be closed down.
Exceptions:
a. Shops, including ration shops (under PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits
and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder,
fertilizers, seeds and pesticides. However, district authorities may encourage
and facilitate home delivery to minimize the movement of individuals outside
their homes.
b. Banks, insurance offices, and ATMs including IT vendors for banking
operations; Banking Correspondent and ATM operation and cash
management agencies.
c. Print and electronic media.
d. Telecommunications, internet services, broadcasting and cable services. IT
and IT enabled Services only (for essential services) and as far as possible to
work from home.
e. Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical
equipment through E-commerce.
f. Petrol pumps, LPG, Petroleum and gas retail and storage outlets.
g. Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.
h. Capital and debt market services as notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
i. Cold storage and warehousing services.
j. Private security services.
k. Data and call centers for Government activities only.
I. Farming operations by farmers and farm workers in the field.
m. ‘Custom Hiring Centres (CHC)’ related to farm machinery.
n. Shops of agriculture machinery, its spare parts (including its supply chain)
and repairs to remain open.
o. Shops for truck repairs on highways, preferably at fuel pumps.
p. Operations of the fishing (marine)/aquaculture industry, including feeding &
maintenance; hatcheries, feed plants, commercial aquaria, movement of
fish/shrimp and fish products, fish seed/feed and workers for all these
activities.
All other establishments may work-from-home only.
5. Industrial Establishments will remain closed.
Exceptions:
a. Manufacturing units of essential goods, medical devices, their raw materials & inter
b. Production units, which require continuous permission from the State Government.
c. Coal and mineral production, transportation after obtaining required
supply of explosives and activities incidental to mining operations.
d. Manufacturing units of packaging material for food items, drugs,
pharmaceutical and medical devices.
e. Manufacturing and packaging units of Fertilizers, Pesticides and Seeds.
f. Tea industry, including plantation with maximum of 50% workers.
6. All transport services — air, rail, roadways — will remain suspended.
Exceptions:
a. Transportation for essential goods only.
b. Fire, law and order and emergency services.
c. Operations of Railways, Airports and Seaports for cargo movement, relief and
evacuation and their related operational organisations.
d. Inter-state movement of goods/ cargo for inland and exports.
e. Cross land border movement of essential goods including petroleum products
and LPG, food products, medical supplies.
f. Intra and inter-state movement of harvesting and sowing related machines
like combined harvester and other agriculture/horticulture implements.
g. Transit arrangements for foreign national(s) in India. (as per attached SOP)
7. Hospitality Services to remain suspended
Exceptions:
a. Hotels, home stays, lodges and motels, which are accommodating tourists
and persons stranded due to lockdown, medical and emergency staff, air and
sea crew.
b. Establishments used/ earmarked for quarantine facilities.
8. All educational, training, research, coaching institutions etc. shall remain closed.
9. All places of worship shall be closed for public. No religious congregations will be
permitted, without any exception.
10. Ali social/ political/ sports/ entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions /
gatherings shall be barred.
11. In case of funerals, congregation of not more than twenty persons will be permitted.
12.AlI persons who have arrived into India after 15.02.2020, and all such persons who
have been directed by health care personnel to remain under strict home/
institutional quarantine for a period as decided by local Health Authorities, failing
which they will be liable to legal action under Sec. 188 of the IPC.
Exceptions:
a. Release of quarantined persons, who have arrived in India after 15.2.2020, after
expiry of their quarantine period and being tested Covid-19 negative (as per
attached SOP).
13. Wherever exceptions to above containment measures have been allowed, the
organisations/employers must ensure necessary precautions against COV1D-19
virus, as well as social distance measures, as advised by the Health Department
from time to time.
14. in order to implement these containment measures, the District Magistrate will
deploy Executive Magistrates as Incident Commanders in the respective local
jurisdictions. The Incident Commander will be responsible for the overall
implementation of these measures in their respective jurisdictions. All other line
department officials in the specified area will work under the directions of such
incident commander. The Incident Commander will issue passes for enabling
essential movements as explained.
15.All enforcing authorities to note that these strict restrictions fundamentally relate to
movement of people, but not to that of essential goods.
16. The Incident Commanders will in particular ensure that all efforts for mobilization of
resources, workers and material for augmentation and expansion of hospital
infrastructure shall continue without any hindrance.
17.Any person violating these containment measures will be liable to be proceeded
against as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act,
2005, besides legal action under Sec. 188 of the IPC.
