The speculations on the Lockdown 5.0 have become true as the Central government has extended the nationwide lockdown till June 30 and the announcement of the extension has been issued by the Union Home Ministry and has come a day ahead of the deadline of the current spell of the lockdown which comes to an end by May 31st. 

The announced extension would be the fifth phase of the unprecedented experiment of what has become the biggest lockdown imposed by any nation to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extended spell would be coming into effect after the tenure of the current spell gets over. The Home Ministry has made the announcement and issued the guidelines on Saturday.

According to the reports, the nationwide lockdown has been extended for the COVID-19 containment zones till June 30th and unlike the preceding phases, the fifth phase of the lockdown will be playing its role only in the containment zones and Center would be rolling out tight restrictions in these designated zones to mitigate the spread of the pandemic.

By gripping up the restrictions in containment zones, the Home Ministry has asserted that the resumption of barred activities and services outside the containment zones would be done gradually in a phased manner. Apart from the containment zones, the rest of India will be having more relaxations and a gradual exit from the lockdown from June 8. 

The ministry stated that religious places, restaurants, shopping malls, and places of worship would be resumed from June 8. However, the respective state governments must disclose the guidelines on implementing the Center's order of resuming the places that account for huge public gatherings. 

The Home Ministry has also eased the movements of people in the fifth phase as people aren't required to avail e-passes or permission from the state governments for interstate transport. Earlier, the state governments had mandated the people to apply and register for e-pass for the travel and the interstate travels were highly restricted and now the restrictions on inter and intra-state travels have been eased. 

However, the state governments may impose restrictions based on the ground situation. The railway and aviation services would be functioning with the current plan. The Home Ministry has revised the timing of the night curfew. Earlier, the restrictions prohibited the movements of people from 7 pm to 7 am across the country, and through the fifth phase, the night curfew will remain in force from 9 pm to 5 am across India and this curfew won't restrict the movement of the essential service.

All educational institutions will remain closed in June across the country and the state governments may hold discussions with the parents and stakeholders to open the institutions in July and the Center is yet to announce the dates to resume the operations of cinema halls, metro rail, international air travel, sports, entertainment, and cultural activities, bars, and other recreational clubs. 

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