New Delhi, April 25: The Minister of Home Affairs on Friday released fresh guidelines to allow shops across India to function with certain guidelines and conditions from Saturday, April 24. The order exempts all shops under Shops and Establishment Act of States/ Union Territories, including shops in residential complexes and market complexes, except shops in multi-brand and single-brand malls, outside limits of Municipal Corporations from revised consolidated lockdown restrictions. Meanwhile, relaxations are not applicable in hotspots and containment zones. When Will Coronavirus End in India? Here's What Health Ministry And The Latest Data by PIB Say.

The new guidelines said that these shops can open with 50 percent strength of workers with and wearing masks and maintaining social distancing mandatory. This development comes at a time when the government said that the COVID-19 cases are slowing down in India. COVID-19 Cases in India Reach 23,452 With Sharpest Spike of 1752 New Patients in Past 24 Hours, 4,813 Recovered.

COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions Are Eased on Three Conditions:

  • 50 percent workforce

  • Mandatory face masks

  • Observing social distancing

MHA Issues Fresh Guidelines:

The relaxations come just days after the government relaxed lockdown norms for shops selling education books, electric fans, prepaid mobile recharge shops, food processing units in urban areas beside service such as caregivers of senior citizens.

India is currently under phase two of the novel coronavirus lockdown. The extended shutdown in India will end on May 3, 2020. The first phase of the lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 12:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).