Unlock 3.0: Gyms to open, night curfew to end, schools to stay shut

New Delhi: Announcing 'Unlock 3' guidelines on Wednesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs removed restrictions outside the containment zones on the movement of individuals during the night while allowing yoga institutes and gymnasiums to reopen from August 5. However, strict enforcement of lockdown in containment zones have been extended till August 31.

There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission, approval or e-permit will be required for such movements.

It has also been decided that schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31. Besides, Metro services, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls shall remain closed.

The Unlock 3 guidelines will come into force from August 1 and strict enforcement of lockdown in containment zones will continue till August 31.

Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other large congregations will also continue to be prohibited till August 31. All activities, except these, shall be permitted outside the containment zones.

Dates for the opening of these will be decided separately, based on the assessment of the situation, the Home ministry said.

Independence Day functions will be allowed with social distancing and by following other health protocols, e.g., wearing of masks etc.

International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the 'Vande Bharat Mission'. Further opening up will take place in a calibrated manner, it said.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries from COVID-19 is fast approaching the 10-lakh mark, while the case fatality rate has been falling progressively due to coordinated implementation of the 'test track treat' strategy by the Centre, states and Union Territories, the Health ministry said on Wednesday.

India's COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) is lower than what it is globally. On Wednesday, the CFR stood at 2.23 per cent, the lowest since April 1, the Health ministry added in a statement.

"Not only has the CFR been kept low, but successful implementation of effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardised clinical management protocols based on a holistic standard of care approach have in tandem resulted in a consistent trend of more than 30,000 recoveries per day for the sixth consecutive day," it said.

With 35,286 patients discharged in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, the total number of recoveries has jumped to 9,88,029. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients too has increased to 64.51 per cent.

The ministry said: "With such consistent increase in recoveries, the gap between the number of recovered patients and active COVID-19 cases currently stands at 4,78,582."

India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 15,31,669 with 48,513 fresh cases recorded in a day, while the country's death toll due to the disease rose to 34,193 with 768 fatalities being reported in the same period, the Health ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,77,43,740 samples have been tested up to July 28 with 4,08,855 samples being tested on Tuesday.