Unlocking India to take place in a phased manner: Zero COVID-19 districts to be opened first

New Delhi, Apr 06: The unlocking of the lockdown would take place in a staggered manner, sources have said. Officials that OneIndia spoke with said that the lockdown would be eased in a phased manner.

Districts with no coronavirus cases would be first unlocked. There are several places in the country which have seen a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. The lockdown in these areas would continue for sometime more until the virus is brought under control, the source cited above said.

Meanwhile the Union Health Ministry is putting in place measures to ensure that the coronavirus does not spread further, following the nation wide lockdown coming to an end.

Post the lockdown that ends on April 14, the focus would be on the hotspots. Ministry sources say that the focus would be largely on the hotspots and densely populated areas.

The government is taking a cue from the 2009 outbreak of H1NI, which had a bigger impact on well connected cities when compared to smaller towns and villages with lower population.

During the recent deliberations, it was decided that post the lockdown there would be different approaches in different parts of the country. The containment efforts would be extremely strong in the hotspots and the lockdown would not be lifted suddenly in such areas.

The Health Ministry in particular is concerned about the community transmission of the coronavirus. Health Ministry officials say that the outbreak is still under control and has not reached the community transmission stage as yet. Post the lockdown a separate plan of action would be in place to ensure that the spread is under control, the official also said.

The government plans to divide hot spots into the quarantine and a buffer zone. The quarantine zone would focus on areas where there are a large number of cases. The buffer zone will include certain blocks or districts around it. The buffer zones would be decided by the authorities on a case to case basis.

In these zones, outbound travel will be cut off. Movement of all vehicles and public transport too would be stalled. However an exception would be made to those with special passes to ensure that the supply of essential commodities are not hit. In these zones schools and colleges will be closed and mass gatherings would be banned.