Newdelhi May 1- Centre extended the lockdown for further period of two weeks beyond 4th of May. Ministry of Home affair also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red, Green and Orange Zone. The Guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the district falling in the Green and Orange Zones.
Centre has asked states to identify pockets of critical interventions for a focused management of COVID-19 at the field level. In a letter to State Chief Secretaries, Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan said, earlier districts were designated as hotspots or red-zones, orange zones and green zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling ra te. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. She said, a district will be considered under Green Zone, if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the area. She highlighted that based on field feedback and additional analysis at state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate. However, they may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as red or orange.
