Assam goes for stricter rules, MHA Unlock 2.0 norms not to apply yet

GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Tuesday said the Centre’s guidelines for Unlock 2.0 from July 1, which were announced on Monday, will not override the state’s lockdown rules in force for 14 days in Kamrup (Metro) since June 29 and for an indefinite period in other urban centres of the state since June 28.
Chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said, “The lockdown rules of the state government will remain in force. The central guidelines say that the state cannot relax the rules announced by the central government. However, states can on their own take stronger actions any time.”
The state government will review the situation after a week and relaxations may be announced, depending on the assessment. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) in its new guidelines for a phased re-opening, Unlock 2, has allowed opening up of more activities in areas outside the containment zones from July 1 but “lockdown, however, shall continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones till 31 July, 2020 with strict perimeter control and strict enforcement of containment measures as per guidelines of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW).”
According to the Unlock 2 guidelines, schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till July 31, 2020, while government training institutions will be opened from July 15 and night curfew will continue with relaxation in timings and with more permitted activities. Shops, depending on the space available, can have more than five persons at a time, while maintaining adequate physical distance among customers. Domestic flights and passenger trains, which have already been allowed in a limited manner, has been further expanded in a calibrated manner.
Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, in his letter to chief secretaries of all states, stated that states and Union Territories “cannot dilute restrictions imposed” in the guidelines issued, but “states/UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities in areas outside containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary.”
Assam re-imposed a complete shutdown in Kamrup (Metro) district, including Guwahati, for two weeks from June 29 and weekend lockdowns on Saturdays and Sundays in all municipality and town committee areas from Saturday. Rural areas have been kept out of the restrictions.
The lockdown is in the strictest form and even grocery and vegetable shops have not been allowed to open. Only pharmacies and hospitals have been exempted. In addition to the shutdown orders, the government has also advanced night curfew from 7pm to 7 am, instead of the existing timings of 9 pm to 5 am. The lockdown in Guwahati was decided after 48% of the 276 Covid-19 positive cases reported on Thursday were from Guwahati and all of them had no travel history, implying that the virus is home grown and not imported like in the past few weeks when positive cases were detected in bodies of returnees from outside the state. To prevent a similar situation in other districts, the weekend lockdowns have been imposed in other urban centres of the state.