Monkeys in Arunachal Pradesh teach a lesson in social distancing amid lockdown

GUWAHATI: While authorities have been urging people to maintain social distancing amid lockdown, some animals have been doing better than humans in teaching how such rules can be followed. A bunch of monkeys at Assam-Arunachal border have been doing just that.

Sports minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted, "A perfect #SocialDistancing seen near Bhalukpong in Arunachal Pradesh along Assam-Arunachal boundary. If we observe carefully, animals can teach us many vital lessons that we may have missed in the haste of our normal daily lives. (Picture taken by Arup Kalita, Tezpur)."

Meanwhile, the third phase of the lockdown will continue till May 17, and was announced ahead of the lockdown 2.0 ending on May 3. The government took the decision after a comprehensive review, and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country, it said. The MHA also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into red (hotspot), orange, and green zones.

The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxation in the districts falling in the green and orange zones. "No other activity is permitted within the Containment Zones."

Under the new guidelines, a limited number of activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone. These include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training or coaching institutions, hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants, places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc, social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings, and, gatherings at religious places/places of worship for public.