India reopens neighborhood stores in easing of lockdown

India began relaxing some of its strict “stay at home” mandates by allowing convenience stores to resume business on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

The easing of restrictions does not apply to the hundreds of hotspots in the country, including entire towns that remain under quarantine. Shopping malls across the country remain closed.

The 1.3 billion people in India have been under a strict lockdown since late last month, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that businesses would close and law enforcement would enforce a curfew.

Unlike the U.S. and some European countries, India has not passed relief legislation to aid the businesses that have needed to close their doors for over a month.

The relaxing of those restrictions brought a sigh of relief to the country’s business community.

“This is a good decision,” said Amit Sharma, an architect, told the AP. “We have to open a few things and let the economy start moving. The poor people should have some source of income. This virus is going to be a long-term problem.”

As of Saturday morning, India had 24,530 confirmed cases of the virus and 780 reported deaths, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. Their figures are well below the U.S. and other large countries. 

The move by the Indian government comes as several U.S. states and other countries in Europe also begin easing restrictions as fears of a pending recession loom.