Lockdown4: Shops, Offices Can Open With Conditions, States To Colour-Code Zones

The fourth phase of countrywide lockdown, which will continue till May 31, has put the ball in the court of states, allowing them not only to colour-code the zones according to the incidence of coronavirus, thereby taking a final decision on what activities are allowed in any particular area. The Centre, however, made it clear that only essential activities shall be allowed in containment zones. The Centre has allowed buses and other vehicles to run. But the key bars -- on air travel and metro rail, malls, gyms, cinemas and big gatherings -- have been retained. Workplaces and shops can function but with restrictions, said the order, which came less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised lockdown in a in a "completely different form", with new rules.