2020 Recap: How India survived COVID-19 pandemic - a series of lockdowns, unlocks

The year 2020 began with the fight against coronavirus, and it came with one of the most impactful changes in all our lives - the lockdown. On April 14, Prime Minister Modi announced the extension of nationwide lockdown till May 3 Phase 2 Commonly referred to as Lockdown 2.0, this period came in with a conditional relaxation promised after April 20, for areas that reported a decline in coronavirus positive cases On April 16, lockdown areas were classified as "red zone", indicating the presence of infection hotspots, "orange zone" indicating some infection, and "green zone" with no infections On April 20, certain relaxations were announced by the government, which allowed agricultural businesses and shops selling farming supplies to reopen. Banks and government centers distributing benefits opened as well On April 25, small retail shops were allowed to open with half the staff, with social distancing norms in place On April 29, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines for the states to allow inter-state movement of stranded persons, along with screening and placing them into quarantine if required On May 1, the government further extended the lockdown period to two weeks Image Source : PTI An Indian family listens to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he announces lockdown, urges citizens to stay home Phase 3 By now, the country was split into three zones - Red, Orange and Green On May 17, the lockdown was again extended for a period of two weeks Phase 4 During this phase, states were given a larger say in the demarcation of Green, Orange and Red zones and the implementation roadmap Red zones were further divided into containment and buffer zones The local bodies were given authority to demarcate containment and buffer zones Image Source : AP Image shows India undergoing lockdown, to curb the spread of coronavirus Unlock Unlock 1.0 The first unlock came with a fresh set of guidelines for the month of June. By now, lockdown restrictions were only limited to the containment zones, while activities were permitted in other zones in a phased manner Shopping malls, religious places, hotels and restaurants were allowed to reopen from June 8 Though large gatherings were still banned, inter-state travel was allowed Various states had imposed night curfews from 9 pm to 5 am and appropriate restrictions were laid on activities Unlock 2.0 Phase II of unlocking began under the guidelines and instructions of the MHA and the NDMA, and the following changes were imposed Lockdown measures were only imposed in containment zones. Inter- and intrastate travel was permitted Limited international travel was permitted as part of the Vande Bharat Mission Shops allowed more than five persons at a time Educational institutions, metros, recreational activities remained closed till July 31 Only essential activities were permitted in containment zones, while maintaining strict parameter control, intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance and other clinical interventions Further guidelines regarding usage of the Aarogya Setu app and masks were reiterated Image Source : PTI Passengers at a railway station deboard a train, taking care of all COVID-19 norms, as India began to unlock Unlock 3.0 Unlock 3.0 removed night curfews and permitted gymnasiums and yoga centers to reopen from August 5 Educational institutions were ordered to remain closed till August 31 All inter and intrastate travel and transportation was permitted Independence Day celebrations were permitted with social distancing During this while, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu imposed a lockdown for the whole month, while West Bengal imposed lockdowns twice a week On August 30, the Delhi Metro resumed its operations on two metro lines Unlock 4.0 A statement underlining the new set of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said, "Lockdown shall remain in force in the Containment Zones till 30th September 2020" outside the containment zone, however, some activities were given permission Metro Rail was allowed to resume operations in a graded manner from September 7 Marriage functions with gatherings of up to 50 people and funereal/last rites ceremonies with of up to 20 people were permitted Religious, entertainment, political, sports, academic functions and gatherings of up to 100 people were allowed Face coverings/masks were made compulsory in public places and workplaces Unlock 5.0 Schools were asked to continue with online learning till as long as possible It was during this period, that the lockdown in containment zones was extended till November 30 Swimming pools being used for training of sportsperson were allowed to open Cinema halls, that had remained closed all this while, reopened from October 15, with 50 per cent of their seating capacity On October 27, guidelines were issued for Unlock 6.0 Image Source : PTI A movie hall undergoing sanitisation process as new set of guidelines for unlock allowed movie halls to function with proper social distancing Unlock 6.0