Coronavirus: Guidelines for 'reopening' from lockdown extended till November 30

An order from the Home Ministry on Tuesday stated, "In exercise of the powers, conferred under Section 10(2)(1) of the Disaster Management Act 2005, [Union Home Secretary and National Executive Committee Chairperson Ajay Kumar Bhalla] hereby directs that guidelines for Re-opening issued vide Ministry of Home Affairs' order of even number dated 30.09.2020, will remain in force up to 30.11.2020."

Bhalla wrote to the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all states/UTs, "While most of the activities have been permitted, some activities involving a large number of people have been allowed with some restrictions and subject to SOPs being followed regarding health and safety precautions."

"These activities include—metro rail; shopping malls; hotels, restaurants, and hospitality services; religious places; yoga and training institutes; gymnasiums; cinemas; entertainment parks, etc."

Although most activities have resumed, Bhalla said that there is a need to "exercise abundant caution by adopting COVID-19 appropriate behavior by every citizen in their daily routine."

He said people are violating health precautions during the festive season and pushed for compliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jan Aandolan, which listed three mantras, namely: wearing face masks, frequent hand-washing, and physical distancing.

According to the Health Ministry, as of Tuesday morning, India reported 79,46,429 COVID-19 cases, after witnessing a spike of 36,370 new cases.

Although India is the second worst-hit nation, the outbreak has seen a downward trend of late.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 72,01,070 people have recovered, while 6,25,857 cases involve active infections.

The death toll climbed to 1,19,502 with 488 more fatalities.