Lockdown 4.0: Govt allows offices and markets to reopen with conditions

New Delhi, May 31: The Centre has come up with a fresh set of guidelines after extending the lockdown till May 31 but ended restrictions on employees returning to work at offices, factories and other industrial units, and allowed markets and shopping complexes to reopen as curbs were eased considerably outside coronavirus containment zones.

"For those who must work from the office, staggering of work business hours shall be followed in offices, shops, markets and industrial and commercial establishments," the order said, adding that offices must be frequently sanitized.

Workplaces should also have the provision of thermal screening, hand wash. Additionally, those in charge of the workplace shall ensure social distancing, adequate gaps between shifts and staggering the lunch breaks of staff.

In the revised guidelines, the government said all activities except those explicitly prohibited will be allowed across the country in the lockdown 4.0.

Salons, too, can now open in all zones except in containment zones, if states allow, the centre said in its order. However, salons in malls cannot reopen.

The MHA guidelines also mention that all those above 65 years of age, people with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years are to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.