dpa
New Delhi
Mumbai and Delhi along with several other regions in India will see some relaxation of lockdown restrictions from Monday as the number of new coronavirus infections fell to a near two-month low after a deadly second wave of the
pandemic.
Delhi, which has been under a lockdown since April 19, is to allow all e-commerce activity which was so far restricted to essential items, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Saturday.
Markets and shopping malls would be allowed to open, with shops with odd house numbers and those with even open operating on alternate days.
Offices could open with half of the workforce in person and the Delhi Metro would begin running with half of its seating capacity.
"As and when the situation keeps improving, more relaxations will be announced,” Kejriwal said.
The government of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, has announced a gradual easing plan for different districts and towns from Monday, based on infection rates and availability of hospitals beds with oxygen facilities.
Mumbai, which falls on the second of five levels, is to open stand-alone shops and malls, theatres and restaurants with 50-percent capacity.
Public transport is to be open only for essential services and medical staff. Offices can open as well as parks.
Infections in India jumped from 10 million at the beginning of the second wave a the end of February to over 28.6 million, second only to the United States.
India logged 120,529 cases on Saturday, down from a peak of 400,000 daily cases in early May, and 3,380 deaths.