New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic is far from over, but the pressure to kickstart the slowing economy and show people a ray of light in these tough times has led to heavy relaxations of Covid-19 guidelines across the country.

Even though the daily spike in cases nationwide have come down drastically, with the average single-day count hovering just over 60,000, the concerns of an approaching winter season looms on 135 crore Indians.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 30 announced the ‘Unlock 5.0’ guidelines, which largely came into effect from October 1, as per which several restrictions were further lifted in areas outside containment zones after nearly seven months since the lockdown was first imposed.

What are the relaxations that come into effect today?

Cinemas, theatres and multiplexes to reopen with up to 50 per cent seating capacity. Entertainment parks and similar recreational places also permitted to reopen

Business-to-Business exhibitions permitted to reopen.

Swimming pools for sportspersons allowed to restart services

Schools and coaching institutions to resume operations in a graded manner, but online/distance learning should be given preference

Social, religious and political gatherings with a flexible limit of/above 100 persons outside containment zones

Academic, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious, political functions permitted with a cap of 100 persons outside containment zones only

How are states implementing the relaxations?

Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was wary on Wednesday and hoped that people in the national capital will adhere to the safety guidelines as cinemal halls reopen in a bid to revive the Delhi economy.

“I hope that the cinema halls will strictly adhere to the guidelines and SOPs of the central as well as the state governments. It is extremely necessary to follow the social distancing and sanitisation protocols in cinema halls. The most important thing is getting Delhi’s economy, which was dismantled due to the lockdown, back on track. We cannot stay in lockdown forever, and we have to open the economy of Delhi,” he said, according to news agency PTI.

Maharashtra

The Uddhav Thackeray-led government on Wednesday allowed the Metro Rail services in Mumbai to resume, amid several other relaxations in line with the MHA order.

Metro services have been permitted to resume in a graded manner with precautions in place, but the Mumbai Metro said in a statement that passenger operations will restart from 19 October 2020 at 8:30 am.

Government and private libraries have also been allowed to be reopen, as are weekly bazaars. Markets and small shops have now been permitted to stay open for additional two hours till 9 pm.

However, the state government order on Wednesday said that schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions across Maharashtra will continue to remain closed till October 31.

Uttar Pradesh

The country’s most populated state is currently reporting an average of 3,000 fresh cases every single day. But, the same concerns surrounding the local economy has forced the Yogi Adityanath government to also relax norms and reopen stagnant sectors.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday released guidelines for the reopening of cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes outside containment zones.

As per the guidelines, there should be a gap of six feet between two individuals on the cinema hall premises, in the common and waiting areas.

State Chief Secretary RK Tiwari has directed that arrangements should be made for contactless sanitiser dispensers and thermal screenings of individuals before they enter the auditoriums; only asymptomatic people will be allowed entry.

Northeast India

Cinema halls in the Northeast, however, will not reopen as the states have not issued any particular guideline in this regard. Theatres and distributors said that moviegoers will have to wait some more as the official directives from the state governments are yet to come.

“We have not received any notification or confirmation from the government for the opening of the halls. We have also not received any programmes from anywhere,” Siddharth Goenka of Goenka Enterprises, Northeast’s largest film distributor, told.

As of today, cinema halls will not reopen anywhere in the entire region.

Apart from Manipur, all northeastern states in India have commercial theatres, including multiplexes.

Jammu and Kashmir

The administration of the Union Territory has permitted the reopening of cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes, swimming pools, bars in restaurants, hotels etc., entertainment parks and similar places, and coaching centres from today with 50 per cent capacity.

They have also increased the per day limit of pilgrims for the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi from 5,000 to 7,000; the proportion of local/outside the UT pilgrims will be decided by the CEO of the shrine board.

However, schools, colleges and higher educational institutions, including Anganwadis, shall remain closed till October 31; online/ distance learning shall continue.

Students of classes 9-12 have been given a choice to visit school for guidance in areas beyond containment zones. Coaching centres have been allowed to take classes outside the containment zones, but only with up to 50 per cent capacity.

Shops in malls as well as within the limits of municipal corporations will now be open from 9 am to 9 pm.