Easing of restrictions under the guidelines of Lockdown 5 provided by the state government from June 1 has led to the city heaving a sigh of relief after the lockdown that extended across nearly 75 days.

Relief measures on June 1

Private offices and shops were allowed to operate from June 1, once Udaipur was declared a no containment zone. Public parks and Fatehsagar were opened to public from 30 May itself.  However, the administration had been diligent in permitting the timing restrictions between 7am till 7pm and restricting Fatehsagar to be opened across two windows, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

June 8 and thereafter Public parks and recreational areas

Subsequent to this, the prohibitory orders were restricted from 9pm till 5am. This led to Fatehsagar being open from 6am till 10am and 5pm till 8pm.  All of a sudden, restrictions on movement in Fatehsagar and public parks was eased late last week and free movement of people and vehicles was implemented - from 6am till 8pm.

On 8 June in the meanwhile, administration permitted the opening of Malls, restaurants and clubs. Sporting activities were permitted with the exception that there will be no audience in the sporting arenas.

Freedom from Lockdown but not from COVID

All through these last 16 days, the COVID curve for Udaipur was seemingly flattened and somehow, the pyschological impact was that of freedom from lockdown.  

Though most offices, shops, malls, restaurants and clubs maintained their restrictive entry parameters, including thermal scanning, sanitization, etc it has been noted that public areas are back to normal business. Vehicles and people are moving freely in public recreation areas and some large shops have let down their guard.

Residents in certain cases have also let down their guard and are taking the easing of restrictions for granted.

Home Quarantine and lifting of restrictions for migrants

At one point of time immense restrictions were placed on migrants in the form of travel, no objections and permits, making it difficult for the really needy to move back home.  All of a sudden, restrictions were completely lifted. No NOC, borders open, no home quarantine for those coming in and asymptomatic. This led to most cases in the city resulting from migrants (nearly 150 migrants have tested positive, which is 25% of the total positive cases in Udaipur).

Should there be a review?

Now with the number of positive cases in Udaipur for today having shot up by 20, there is once again a cause of concern. In terms of percentage, still low, but in terms of a one day jump when the curve was actually flattening...a matter of concern.

• Should the administration review the relief measures implemented in Lockdown 5?
• Should public recreation areas once again be restricted to timings and vehicular movement be banned?
• Should there be surprise checks on shops and business establishments, restaurants, malls, etc to ensure that precautinary measures are being taken?
• At this juncture, should the administration ensure that no other activities are permitted - especially gyms, swimming pools, etc. as they are highly sensitive zones when it comes to transmission.
• Should there be a review of migrant control similar to what was being done earlier? NOC, permits and home quarantine?
• Today, two major educational institutions opened their gates to the teaching and administrative staff - Mohanlal Sukhadia University and BN University. Have they taken written permissions?  Have they ensured that all precautions like thermal screening and sanitization and social distancing norms will be in place?

The relief measures being implemented one by one could cause the situation to go out of hand and another full fledged lockdown may be the only viable option to control the spread, if corrective measures are not implemented with immediate effect.