While India has crossed the 30,000 mark, the lockdown has been extended. But, here’s what a partial lockdown would look like, had it been lifted on 3rd May. 

With states like Goa and Manipiur being Corona free states a complete lockdown might not make sense. So the third option that the PM is focusing on is partial lockdown in the country. Considering 27 districts in India accounts for 68% of total Covid-19 cases, it is impossible to lift the lockdown there.  

In order to impose a partial lockdown, the government will likely colour code the districts — red, orange and green and easing of the restrictions will depend on the colour, with the onus now on the district administrations to ensure that their districts move into the green, if they are in orange or red. 

What will be common among all these is that wearing masks and maintaining social distancing norms of minimum 6 feet will be mandatory.  

Now, what do these colours imply on the lockdown conditions?  

Green zones, defined as those districts where there’s been no Covid-19 positive case in the preceding 28 days or any case ever, such as states like Sikkim and Nagaland, will get the most benefits in terms of relaxation, such as opening up of non-essential shops and greater movement of people within the green zones. 

They might also see a relaxation in allowing e-commerce companies to deliver non-essentials and also allowing some industries and offices to open. 

Orange zones, defined as those districts where there’s been no Covid-19 positive case in the preceding 14 days, will not see as many relaxations as in the green zones but might see relaxations such as opening up of neighbourhood shops. 

As of April 15, there were 207 orange zones which hadn’t seen a single Covid-19 positive case for the preceding 14 days. 

Red zones, of which there were 170 as of April 15, will not see any relaxation in the lockdown, which will be continued as there’re still a substantial number of cases in these districts. Until these districts move into the orange zone, there’ll be no easing up of restrictions, with only essential services allowed. 

However, things like inter-state people movement are unlikely to be allowed even after May 3, with even establishments such as cinema halls and shopping malls likely to remain shut across all zones.  

Well, these restrictions quite clearly suggest that we are way far away from going back to the normal. Do you think with this prolonging situation we might be preparing for a new normal?