The Assam government on Wednesday allowed conditional inter-district travel for certain categories of people for three days starting April 25, The Indian Express reported. The whole country has been in a lockdown since March 25 to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The lockdown is scheduled to end on May 3.

The relaxation applies to patients requiring medical treatment, stranded citizens who are home-bound or office-bound, and contractors or employers who must provide their employees conveyance to their workplace.

“This does not mean we have given blanket permission for movement across districts,” Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at a press conference in Guwahati. “There are different conditions, and movement will require prior permission from deputy commissioners.”

Sarma said patients were being allowed to travel because medical colleges will open in the state from April 24. He added that the relaxation is also applicable to migrant workers who travel inter-district for work.

The health minister said people who are stranded and do not have their own vehicles will also be allowed to travel home. “Preference will be given to students, women and the elderly,” he added. Sarma said those wishing to travel home should call 104.

The health minister said the Assam State Transport Corporation will arrange buses for those without vehicles who want to travel. These buses will ply on designated routes, the minister added according to India Today.

However, stranded individuals as well as patients wishing to visit another district for treatment will have to procure e-passes from government authorities, Sarma said. He said the relaxations granted comply with the guidelines set by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Assam has so far reported 35 cases of Covid-19, including one death. The figure for the whole of India is 20,472, with 652 deaths.