Delhi government extends lockdown but allows manufacturers to restart operations

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 31, 2021

The Delhi government has extended the national capital’s lockdown until June 7 but has ruled to allow manufacturing units to restart operations with new guidelines in place from May 31.

The capital will remain under “strict lockdown,” for another week, the local government announced. To mitigate the effects of the ongoing lockdown on the economy, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has created and issued a set of guidelines to enable the manufacturing industry to restart its operations, ET Bureau reported.
 
“DDMA directs to extend the curfew, on movement of individuals (except for essential activities or services) in the territory of NCT of Delhi, till 5 am on June 7,” the DDMA said in a statement, Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Workers will be allowed to travel to work with an e-pass and businesses will be responsible for ensuring strict compliance, it said. 
 
Factories and construction sites must carry out Covid-19 sample testing to make sure there are no outbreaks. The Residents Welfare Association will be responsible for checking that shopkeepers are following health and safety guidelines. 
 
New Delhi, which first went into its current lockdown on April 19, has seen many ‘non-essential’ stores including fashion and beauty outlets, closed for over a month and some even closed their doors before the official lockdown was announced. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that there will be a gradual unlocking of the metro which businesses are hoping leads to a return to retail sales.