These 30 cities will face 'maximum restrictions' during lockdown 4.0
As India is set to enter the fourth phase of the coronavirus lockdown, 30 municipal areas that account for 80% of all cases in India will reportedly face maximum restrictions. These municipalities include Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, etc. However, the extent of the restrictions will likely become known later on Sunday as the government unveils the guidelines for "lockdown 4.0." Here are more details.
According to Hindustan Times, the municipal areas include: Maharashtra's Brihanmumbai, Thane, Pune, Solapur, Nashik, Aurangabad, and Palghar. Tamil Nadu's Greater Chennai, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Chengalpattu, Ariyalur, and Villupuram. Gujarat's Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara. Rajasthan's Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. West Bengal's Kolkata and Howrah, Madhya Pradesh's Indore and Bhopal, Uttar Pradesh's Agra and Meerut, Telangana's Greater Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool, Punjab's Amritsar, Odisha's Berhampur, and Delhi.
These municipalities were reportedly notified to the Centre by the Health Ministry. Health Secretary Preeti Sudan Saturday held a meeting with the municipal and health officials from the 12 states where these municipalities are located. At the meeting, various outbreak indices—such as confirmation rate, fatality rate, doubling rate, etc.—were reviewed. Sudan also alerted the states about the Ministry's new guidelines for urban settlements.
Although the guidelines for "lockdown 4.0" are yet to be released, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said on Tuesday that the phase will be new and different. In the third phase, that is scheduled to end on Sunday night, the government had announced considerable relaxations for regions where the outbreak was not intense. The government had taken inputs from states over the new guidelines.
According to the latest update from the Health Ministry, as of 8 am on Sunday, India had reported a total of 90,927 COVID-19 cases. These included 2,872 deaths and 53,946 active cases along with 34,108 patients who were cured or discharged and one patient who migrated out of India. With this, India has recorded its biggest single-day spike in cases yet.
