Phase 2 lockdown guidelines: Agri, IT, e-commerce to open up in safe areas, but public transport to stay shut

Fresh stay-at-home guidelines issued on Wednesday indicated that the government would allow operations in agriculture, IT and e-commerce after April 20 in safe areas to “mitigate hardships” of the people but all kinds of public transport will be shut during the second phase of the nationwide lockdown.

Inter-state, inter-district movement of people, metro, bus services will continue to be prohibited till May 3, the ministry of home affairs guidelines said. Educational institutions, coaching centres, domestic, international air travel, train services will also remain suspended till this time, it said, according to initial reports in PTI and news television channels.

But the guidelines said sectors of the economy crucial for job creation and rural agriculture would be opened up gradually in areas not declared Covid-19 hotspots.