Home Ministry issues guidelines for the 21-day nationwide lockdown

NEW DELHI: Following the Prime Minister address, where he issued a 21-day nationwide lockdown to curtail the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the Union Home Ministry has issued a set of detailed guidelines that are to be implemented for the time period.

During the 21-day lockdown, there is a complete ban on exiting your homes. “Every state, every district, every lane, every village will be under lockdown,” Modi said in his national address. Violation of this could attract a jail term of up to one-year and/ or a penalty under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Government offices (State and Central), Public Corporations, Industrial Establishments (Except units manufacturing essential commodities) are to remain close. Transportation services- road, rail and air- are to remain closed. Hospitality services like hotels, motels etc., educational, and training and research institutions are also to remain shut.

Along with this, people who have entered India from abroad after February 15 is to remain in quarantine.

Essential services like hospitals, banks, petrol pumps, power generation, transmission and distribution units and services, shops dealing with food, groceries, meat, animal fodder etc., are exempted and are to remain open during the three weeks. Print and electronic media are also to remain operational.

All social, political, entertainment, sports and religious gatherings are barred. Funerals, however, can be conducted but only 20 people are permitted.

Despite the strict order of lockdown, hundreds of cases of violations have come up from all parts of the country. Over 400 cases have been booked in Kerala, Gujarat Police has detained 426 people in the state, while 255 people have been arrested in West Bengal till now.