The COVID-19 lockdown across States is used as a measure to prevent the further spread of the disease.
The lockdown is imposed through a set of orders by which the National Disaster Management Authority (National Authority) requests all Government Ministries/Departments including State/Union Territory Governments to take effective measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country. The National Authority has the power to issue guidelines1 on how the lockdown should be implemented, and can request the government to comply with their directions and implement them strictly. These lockdown orders are published on the Ministry of Home Affairs website.
During the lockdown period, the government provides and allows the provision of many essential services , whereas non-essential services are temporarily suspended. For example, essential services like medicines are available while non-essential services like amusement parks may be stopped for some time. Some of the services available also depend on the State Government, so it is important to know the directions given in the State.
- Section 6, Disaster Management Act, 2005 [↩]