India: The Unlock 3 continues in place

RESTRICTIONS STILL IN PLACE

The phase ‘’Unlock 3’’ continues in place and all activities shall adhere to the requirements as stipulated in the Guidelines for Phased Re-opening (Unlock 3) 1
, including:
- All activities in areas outside Containment Zones will be permitted, excluding prohibited activities such as academic, entertainment, sports, social, political, religious-related events, metro rail and international air travel of passengers (except those permitted by Ministry of Home Affairs). Starting from 5 August, yoga institutes and gymnasiums have been permitted to resume operation. The relevant Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 2 has been announced by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) on 03 August.
- Lockdown remains in force in the Containment Zones until 31 August, 2020 and only essential activities will be allowed, where no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining supply of essential goods and services.
- The local government may impose restrictions on certain activities outside the Containment Zones, as deemed necessary.
In addition, the National Directives for COVID-19 Management shall continue remain in force throughout the country.
At the same time, on 02 August, the revised Guidelines for International Arrivals 3 has been issued. The guidelines details the recommended practices at different stages, including before planning for travel, before boarding, during travel and on arrival.

For food sector, the food manufacturing activities remain unhampered. Based on the Guidelines, there shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No additional approval/permission will be required for these forms of movements.
However, some of the challenges still being observed on the ground. As of 31 July,
- Cochin: Various parts of Western Kochi have been declared as containment zones by the local authorities. This has led to the difficulty where some distributors of essential food items have been unable to deliver products to the wholesalers and grocery stores.
- Kolkata: The price of local staple foods have risen significantly due to lower supplies. Similar situation happened in Visakhapatnam for fish price.