People living in red zone are not allowed to step out of their homes.
No delivery service is allowed to operate in red zone
Only designated local stores allowed to operate, will home deliver items.
The nationwide lockdown continues, and now the country is implementing red, orange and green zones based on the level of infection. Red Zones, in particular, are the problematic areas since the government has mandated that no activity be conducted in said zone. If you live in an area that’s part of the red zone and are wondering how to go about getting essential items, here’s what you need to know.
Online services
As everyone tries to figure out a rhythm during the lockdown, it's admirable that many delivery services have been able to get their operations up and running in order to meet demand. Even companies like Zomato and Swiggy have turned to deliver groceries as a means of helping out. 1mg, a popular online service for medicine delivery has declared that they’ve resumed normal operations and will be able to deliver orders within the usual time frame. Even grocery delivery services like Grofers and Big Basket have resumed deliveries, even if they’re doing fewer of that per-day. Unfortunately, the Red Zone means that no deliveries can be honoured in your area. Therefore, no apps will be of any use.
Local Shops
Areas designated as Red Zones have been ordered to shut all shops, including groceries, pharmacies and even banks. Any established or essential service that is permitted under the lockdown has been suspended in the red zones till further notice. However, every locality that has been designated as a hotspot will have select stores for essential items open, but they will only be delivering the items to your homes. Each area has specific stores that are allowed to be open and numbers of those stores will be circulated by your local administration. Thus, the only way to get groceries, milk, eggs medicines etc will be through these handful of stores in your locality.
But what about the supply
If you’re concerned about a handful of stores catering to whole neighbourhoods, and consequently not having enough supplies to go around, do not fret. For example, in the NCR region, the government is ensuring that these designated stores are stocked every day with essentials. It isn’t like the chemist will run out of medicines and then the neighbourhood has no medication available for purchase. Re-stocking will be done with great consideration, not just for the demand, but also for safety. Do note once again that it is not permitted for people to step out of their homes in a Red Zone, and hence, you will have to order your items over the phone.
What happens next
All areas designated as red zones will be under complete lockdown until the number of cases in the area drop. Currently, any locality with 15 or more cases will be designated as red zone, while a locality with less than 15 cases and no increase in the number of infections. Till an area is no longer designated as a red zone, no delivery services will be allowed to operate in the area. Hopefully, with the continued lockdown enforcing social distancing, we will flatten the curve faster.
What to do with all the time
So you can’t go out at all and it must be getting frustrating being indoors. To help you out, we have a number of guides that can help you pass the time. There’s a list of the best Marvel movies to watch, and plenty on Netflix and Amazon Prime too that we’d recommend. For those experiencing difficulties with their moods, we also have a great list of apps that can help you calm your mind.
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Swapnil Mathur
Swapnil was Digit's resident camera nerd, (un)official product photographer and the Reviews Editor. Swapnil has moved-on to newer challenges. For any communication related to his stories, please mail us using the email id given here. View Full Profile
