There would be no lockdown across the states as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has advised them to go in for "containment" in districts and areas where the second wave surged. The ministry directed states and Union Territories to consider containment measures such as restrictions on gatherings, operations of markets, offices, schools and universities, and intensified testing and tracking for immediate implementation based on their assessment of the situation until May 31.

It has suggested intensive, local and focused containment measures in districts and areas with test positivity of 10 per cent and more in the last one week and where more than 60 per cent of oxygen-supported or ICU beds are occupied. Despite the surge in Covid-positive cases and deaths in April, the MHA's fresh guidelines on Covid containment steered clear of imposing lockdowns and left it to states and UTs to devise their own containment strategies.