Shops selling educational books and electric fans, servicesof bedside attendants of senior citizens and public utilities, includingrecharge facilities for prepaid mobile phones have been allowed during thelockdown period.
The orders were issued by the Home Ministry on Tuesday nightafter receiving some queries with regard to exemptions of specific services andactivities allowed through the guidelines issued so far.
The home ministry also said bread factories and flour millslocated in urban areas can restart operations during the ongoing lockdown tocombat the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Shops selling educational books for students and electricfans will be allowed to open during the lockdown, which is scheduled to end onMay 3.
Bedside attendants and care givers of senior citizensresiding in their homes and public utilities, including recharge facilities forprepaid mobile connection will be allowed to offer services, the ministry saidin its order.
Food processing units such as bread factories, milkprocessing plants, flour mills, dal mills etc., located in urban areas will beallowed to function during the lockdown.
Facilities for export or import such as pack houses,inspection and treatment facilities for seeds and horticulture produce, researchestablishments dealing with the agriculture and horticulture activities havebeen exempted from the purview of the lockdown.
Inter and intra-state movement of planting materials andhoney bee colonies, honey and other beehive products will also be allowed tofunction, the order said.
Forest offices, forestry plantation and related activities,including silviculture operations, are allowed during the lockdown.
However, the ministry made it clear that social distancingfor offices, workshops, factories and establishments must be ensured.
The home ministry also allowed sign-on and sign-off ofIndian seafarers at Indian ports and their movement for the aforesaid purposeas per a standard operating protocol (SOP).
It said that change of crew of a ship (seafarers) is animportant measure for operation of merchant ships.
The SOP has been formulated to streamline the sign-on andsign-off of Indian seafarers at Indian ports for merchant shipping vessels, theministry added.
For sign-on, the ship owner or recruitment and placementservice (RPS) agency will identify the Indian seafarers for joining a vessel.
The seafarers will intimate their travel and contact historyfor the last 28 days to the ship owner or RPS agency by email, as per procedurelaid down by Director General of Shipping (DGS).
The seafarer would be examined by a DGS-approved medicalexaminer, as per the guidelines prescribed for this purpose.
At the same time, the seafarer shall also be screened, andhis travel and contact history examined for the last 28 days; seafarers foundto be asymptomatic for COVID-19 and otherwise suitable may be processed forsign-on.
The local authority in the area where the seafarer resideswill be intimated about his clearance for sign-on and for issue of a transitpass from the place of residence to the place of embarkation on the shippingvessel.
The transit pass for such movement by road, for the seafarerand one driver, may be issued by the government of the State or Union Territorywhere the seafarer resides.
For sign-off, the master of a vessel, coming from anyforeign port, or a coastal vessel from any Indian port, while arriving at itsport of call in India, shall ascertain the state of health of each person onboard the vessel and submit a Maritime Declaration of Health to the healthauthorities of the port and to the port authorities.
In addition, the information required by the local healthauthorities of the port, like temperature chart, individual health declaration,etc. shall also be provided by the master as per the directives of the healthauthorities of the port.
Port health authorities shall grant pratique to the vesselprior to berthing as per necessary health protocols.
The Indian seafarer arriving on the vessel would undergo theCOVID-19 test for confirmation that he or she is negative for the infection.
After disembarking and till the time the seafarer reachesthe testing facility within the port premises, it will be ensured by the shipowner that all safety precautions as per standard health protocol are observed.
Till the time test reports of the seafarer are received,they shall be kept in the quarantine facility by the port or the state healthauthorities.
If the seafarer is tested as positive for COVID-19, he orshe will be dealt with as per the procedures laid down by Health Ministry.
For the seafarer tested negative and signed off, the localauthority in the area where the seafarer disembarks will be intimated about hisor her clearance for sign-off, and for issue of a transit pass from the placeof disembarkation to the place of his or her residence.
The social distancing and other hygiene norms, as perstandard health protocol, would be followed by the vehicle transporting theseafarer to his destination.
The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister NarendraModi on March 24 in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic. It was laterextended till May 3.