New Delhi: At a time when coronavirus cases are still on the rise, India entered the second phase of unlocking on Wednesday, known as “Unlock 2.0”, as the month-long “Unlock-1” ended on Tuesday.
On Monday night, the Home Office issued new guidelines for Unlock 2.0 and said that educational institutions, Metro Rail services, movie theaters, and gyms will continue to be closed until the end of July.
Unlocking 2.0 of the Center is the gradual reopening of activities that had been closed to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and said that people who do not strictly adhere to the rules and precautions were a cause for concern.
At this crucial juncture, India’s COVID-19 count rose to 5.66,840 with a single-day peak of 18,522. Since June 1, when relaxations were introduced under Unlock-1, the country has reported 3.76,305 cases. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Gujarat represent almost two-thirds of the total cases so far.
Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Modi said India is in a better position compared to many countries in the world, as the timely imposition of the blockade and other decisions have saved lakhs of lives.
During his speech to the nation, Prime Minister Modi announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for an additional five months until the end of November.
He said that more than Rs 90,000 million will be spent on the extension of the program, and if the expenses of the last three months are added due to the free rationing scheme, the total budget will be around Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
“All things considered, it has been decided to extend Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana to Diwali and Chhath Puja until the end of November,” Prime Minister Modi said.
He added that the central government is also working on the “one nation, one ration card” initiative that will benefit people living outside their homes to get jobs.
The country first reported the case of coronavirus infection on Kerala on January 30 when a student who had returned from Wuhan tested positive. Currently, India is the fourth most affected country in terms of cases after the United States, Brazil, and Russia.
The death toll rose to 16,893 on Tuesday after 418 new deaths. It was the seventh consecutive day that more than 15,000 cases have been reported in the country.
According to the latest updates, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 1.74,761 with 4,878 new patients, while the number of deaths increased to 7,855 after 245 more deaths.
Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 figure crossed the 90,000 marks, beating Delhi to rank second among the hardest hit states with 4,000 new cases for the third consecutive day.
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