Coronavirus Lockdown 3.0 Explained: What Are Red, Orange, Green And Containment Zones?

New Delhi: As the third phase of nation-wide lockdown kicks-in as the rise in the number of coronavirus cases persists, the ministry of health and family welfare released revised guidelines classifying India’s 733 districts into zones – red, orange, green and containment zone.

All these zones have varying levels of restrictions. So far India has more than 42,000 coronavirus infected people and around 1300 people have died.

What Is A Red, Orange, Green And Containment Zone?

Green Zone: According to the ministry, a green zone area or district is where there are zero confirmed cases of coronavirus in the last 21 days

Red Zones Or Hotspot Districts: Areas with several active cases, high doubling rate of confirmed cases will be classified under Red Zones or Hotspot districts. According to the ministry guidelines, “areas that will have highest caseload districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of cases in India or highest caseload districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of cases for each state in India or districts with doubling rate less than four days”, will also be identified as red zone areas.

Orange Zones: As per the health ministry, those zones which are neither red or green will be called Orange Zones.

In the revised guidelines, the ministry has also divided COVID-19 affected areas within red and orange districts into two more zones which are Containment zone and Buffer Zone. These two are identified by district authorities in clusters such as (colonies/wards/towns in urban centres and villages/panchayats/blocks in rural areas) and are basically those areas which are severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak Explained: Why Is A Lockdown Important?

What Are The Restrictions In Each Zone?

According to the revised guidelines, the Red, Orange, Green or containment Zone classification of a district will determine what activities are permitted and what kind of movement is allowed there. In the containment areas, as per the notification, there are additional restrictions.

What is Not Allowed Across India, Irrespective of the Zone: Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road; schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions; hotels and restaurants; cinema halls, malls, gyms, sports complexes etc; social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings; and, religious places/ places of worship for the public.

However, movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The revised guidelines also say that the movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am.

Whereas, it also mentions that in all zones, persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes.

Also Read: Doctors Give A Thumbs Up To The New Guideline On ‘Home Isolation For Mild Cases’, Says It Will Ease Burden On The Healthcare System

Red Zones: In the Red Zones, outside the Containment Zones, certain activities are prohibited in addition to those prohibited throughout the country. These are: plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws; running of taxis and cab aggregators; intra-district and inter-district plying of buses; and, barbershops, spas and salons.

Moreover, four-wheelers with a driver and two passengers and two-wheelers without pillion riders will be allowed. Offices can open with a third of the staff. However, e-commerce activities are only allowed for essential services.

Also Read: Fighting COVID-19: What It Is Like To Live In A Coronavirus ‘Hotspot’

Orange Zones: In addition to activities permitted in Red Zone, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted with 1 driver and 1 passenger only. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four wheeler vehicles will have a maximum of two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers. E-commerce is allowed for both essential and non-essential items in the orange zone.

Green Zones: All activities except those prohibited nationwide is allowed in the green zones. However, buses can operate with up to 50% seating capacity and bus depots can operate with up to 50% capacity.

Containment Zones: Entry and exit of people will be severely restricted in this zone. Movement of people will only be allowed for the supply of essential goods and services. Almost everything else remains shut in this zone.