Unlock 1 which started on June 8, saw the opening up of restaurants, malls, establishments and even places of worship. In phase 2 of this unlock plan is due to start from July 1. In this phase states will determine if they can go ahead with opening schools and educational institutes and where public transport can be further open up. But far from opening up more, some states have decided to impose stricter lockdown after a spurt in corona cases. Here is how some states are retreating back to more caution.
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh initially decided to extend the lockdown till June 15. Religious places in Bhopal and Indore were opened later from June 15 onwards. Government and private offices allowed to operate at 50% capacity in Indore, Ujjain and Bhopal municipal corporation areas, and at full strength in the rest of the state
Punjab & Chandigarh
Under Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Punjab has decided to continue the lockdown until June 30. Despite easing the curbs up to some extent, to stop people from engaging in social gatherings the state decided to enforce stricter lockdown or curfew on weekends. Union Territory Chandigarh could opt for weekend closure of markets or curfew following Punjab’s footsteps.
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West Bengal
Talking about Bengal, it first pushed the lockdown till June 15, later extended it to June 30 and now from the latest update of this Wednesday, Bengal has extended the lockdown for one more month till July 31.
Tamil Nadu
Earlier this week, even Tamil Nadu had imposed the lockdown in Chennai and a few other districts to contain the spread of corona virus in the state.
While some states have fared better than others when it comes to containing the corona pandemic, there is no one size that fits all. While there is a belief that our economy and lives cannot remain in a standstill waiting for virus curve to flatten or a vaccine to come out, all states have the freedom to decide what works best for them.