Barber shops can open in orange, green zones

New Delhi: Amid the confusion over what will remain open and what will not during the extended lockdown that ends on May 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has clarified that barbers, spas and salons will be open only in orange and green zone areas. However, the restrictions will continue to remain the force in the red zone areas.

On Friday the Home Ministry issued an order, extending the pan-India lockdown by two more weeks till May 17. In this phase, the MHA has permitted "considerable relaxations" in green and orange zones.

Vehicular movement The Ministry of Home Affairs extended the nationwide lockdown for another two weeks with a fresh set of relaxations that are different for different zones. In case of vehicular movement, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a clarification allowing private as well as taxi services to ply within the districts, while allowing only permitted services to commute between districts. Any four-wheeler on the road can have a maximum of two passengers apart from the driver, while two-wheelers can have a driver and a pillion rider.

The MHA has also clarified that buses will not be allowed to ply within or between districts in orange zones. The bus services, with 50 per cent capacity, have been permitted to ply only in green zones - areas with no cases of novel coronavirus.

Intra-district:

• Private four wheelers allowed with one driver and two passengers, two-wheelers allowed to have driver and pillion rider

• Taxi and cab aggregator companies allowed to operate with a maximum of two passengers and one driver

• Buses not allowed to operate

Inter-district

• No buses allowed to ply between districts till May 17

• Private vehicles with prior permission can ply for emergency purposes like medical urgency or death of a deceased

• Private and commercial vehicles carrying out permitted activities like delivery of essential goods

• Apart from the activities banned across the nation, everything else is allowed in orange zones without any restriction.

However, state and union territories may choose to permit a lesser number of activities based on their assessment and priorities.