Halfway point in coronavirus lockdown; states, airlines, railways consider steps to relax curbs in phases from Apr 15

As India reached the halfway point in the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, some states and rail and airline operators were considering measures to relax restrictions in phases from April 15.

Simultaneously, the Centre has drawn up a cluster containment strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas.

According to sources, all the 17 railway zones and divisions are preparing plans to identity trains for phased resumption of operations from April 15, taking into account the availability of rakes. Passenger services were suspended from March 25 for 21 days due to the national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A Railways official, however, said no final decision has been taken on the restoration of passenger train services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told chief ministers to focus on COVID-19 containment measures -- testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine -- with a common goal of ensuring minimum loss of life, and pitched for a joint strategy for a "staggered" exit from the ongoing lockdown.

According to data provided by the state governments, the number of COVID-19 deaths inched towards 100 on Saturday and confirmed infections crossed 3,000.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the state government was considering relaxation of the lockdown restrictions in a staggered manner.

"Discussions are on about whether the lockdown can be relaxed in phases. Strict rules will have to be followed in the containment zones," Tope said in a live webcast.

Earlier in the day, he had said the Maharashtra government may not lift the lockdown from April 15 if people did not observe discipline and the number of COVID-19 cases kept rising.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said lifting of lockdown in the state will depend upon the compliance by people to the government directives.

He reiterated that no permission will be granted to religious or sporting events in the state till further notice to avoid mass gathering of people.

Maharashtra accounted for nearly 550 of the over 3,000 COVID-19 cases in the country with the tally for Mumbai alone being 330, according to state data. The death toll for the state stood at 26.

A central official said all measures to implement the lockdown have been effective till now and the supply of essential goods and services has been "satisfactory".

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to states and Union Territories to ensure that the supply chain of essential items is not obstructed during the lockdown period, Punya Salila Srivastava, a joint secretary in the Union Home Ministry, told reporters.

Budget carrier AirAsia India said bookings for its flights are open from April 15, but it is open to any change in case aviation regulator DGCA issues fresh directives on resumption.

Domestic and international commercial flights in the country are suspended till April 14.

Most of the airlines have commenced taking bookings for their flights from April 15 onwards.

On Thursday, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said airlines are free to take ticket bookings for any date after April 14.

No-frills carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir said they are taking bookings for domestic flights starting April 15. In the case of SpiceJet and GoAir, they have started selling tickets for international flights from May 1.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also discussed the detailed action plan with his officials for the state to follow after the lockdown comes to an end