COVID-19: Mizoram govt extends lockdown in Aizawl till June 21

The Mizoram government on Saturday extended the lockdown in Aizawl Municipal Corporation area for another week till June 21 in view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases in the region.

The order said new COVID-19 cases continue to rise despite the imposition of the existing restrictions.

''It has been decided to continue with the current restrictions imposed to prevent further escalation of COVID-19 cases. The new guidelines with certain modification issued on June 5 will remain in force from June 14 to 21,'' it said.

According to the new guidelines, people who live in a building or a housing complex should not meet and interact with each other during the lockdown.

Barring medical emergencies, intra-state or inter-village movement is strictly prohibited, it said.

Deputy commissioners of districts will declare containment zones in their respective areas if the need arises, it said.

Shops selling essential commodities in the AMC area will be allowed to open every day till 8 am and those dealing with agricultural seeds and equipment can open their outlets from 5 am to 5 pm, it said.

Shops selling school textbooks, motor parts can open on Tuesday, and those dealing with construction materials, computers, mobile phones have been allowed to do business on Friday.

Vegetable and meat markets are allowed to open on Friday between 5 am and 5 pm, it said.

However, economic and other agricultural activities outside the AMC area will function normally under strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.

Hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, dispensaries, banks and non-banking financial institutions, post offices, LPG storehouses, fair price shops, animal feed stores are exempted from the lockdown.

All places of worship, educational institutions, parks, picnic spots, movie theatres, gymnasiums, community halls, restaurants, shopping complexes and malls will continue to remain close in all parts of the state.

All government offices, barring a few, will remain close during the extended lockdown period in Aizawl civic body area.

Mizoram on Saturday reported 178 new COVID-19 cases, which took the state's tally to 14,921.

The northeastern state now has 3,356 active cases, while 11,503 people have recovered from the disease and 63 died.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)