What can be done now? Central officials mull Yogi\'s weekend lockdowns

New Delhi: With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread, senior officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs are not ruling out the possibility of extending the Uttar Pradesh model of weekend lockdowns extended to other parts of the country in the coming days.

These officials said though it is the states that will have to eventually decide on the local strategy to deal with the COVID-19 menace, the Union Home Ministry will guide them states with 'inputs'.

There is a growing view within the ministry that in at least some of the containment zones tighter restrictions may have to imposed again.

"The decision taken by UP to impose a weekend lockdown may be an effective strategy since footfalls in the markets or other public places increase substantially during the weekend. So this may well be extended to other states also,’’a senior official said.

Similarly, on the issue of starting up public transport like the Metro in Delhi and full-scale operation of Mumbai's suburban trains, these officials claimed that this will be decide only during phase 3 of the unlock, which start next month.

The ministry does not seem to be in any hurry to resume the Metro services as the corona curve in the capital is continuing to rise. The Delhi government has requested the Home Ministry to resume the Metro services at least for essential services.

"Starting up Metro services at this time may be risky as there would be a huge rush. This will obviously will lead to a rapid spread of the virus. We need to wait for a few more days,’’ the official added.