A nationwide lockdown was announced by the Union Government in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in Indian on the intervening night of March 24-25. The lockdown was continued in four phases, following which the Government decided to ease the restrictions gradually with Unlock 1.0, except in containment zones. According to the latest guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), malls, restaurants, and places of worship would open from June 8 onwards.
The concerned authorities had been directed to sanitise premises, ensure social distancing and mandatory wearing of masks. Cinema halls, gaming arcades, and hotels have been ordered to remain non-operational.
Guidelines for malls and restaurants
According to MHA directives, restaurants and malls must screen home-delivery staff and encourage takeaways instead of dining-in. Restaurants can only allow asymptomatic diners and staff within their premises. Moreover, thermal screening is mandatory at the entrance of both malls and restaurants. As per guidelines, staff and patrons alike must wear masks and adhere to social distancing within the premises. Besides, the management is obliged to manage crowds not just inside the dining area but only in parking areas and outside the restaurant. It has also been recommended to ensure separate entry and exit points for patrons and staff.
The shoppers are required to maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet when queuing up for entry into a mall or a restaurant. Precautionary measures and adequate checks and balances have to be ensured where handling inventories and goods. The seating arrangement of diners should be such that adequate physical distance is maintained between diners. Under no circumstances, restaurants can operate with more than 50% seating capacity.
Moreover, the use of disposable menus, high-quality paper napkins, and contactless ordering and payment modes need to be encouraged by the management. The food courts have been advised to sanitise dining tables, kitchens, hand-washing stations, and washrooms at regular intervals. Safe disposal of used gloves, face covers, and masks must be ensured by the management. Employees who are at high risk should not be allowed to work as front-line staff.
According to MHA, posters, videos highlighting the preventive measures to contain the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus must be displayed prominently. The management must also restrict the number of people using elevators to adhere to social distancing guidelines. In no case, a large gathering of people should be allowed to assemble.
Temples to reopen
Reportedly, about 1300 temples under the Malabar Devaswom Board will open its gates to devotees on June 9, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Union Government. All places of worship were directed to shut operations on March 24 with the enforcement of the first phase of the lockdown. After a gap of 2.5 months, temples are now preparing to welcome the attendance of devotees.
According to President N Vasu of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), only devotees wearing masks or face covers would be allowed to enter the temple premises. Besides, guards will be deployed to ensure compliance of social distancing measures at the time of entry. The devotees will also be provided with sanitiser dispensers. Besides, devotees will be allowed in batches and ‘Prasadam,’ ‘teertham’ and ‘nivedyam’ will not be provided. The devotees need to register online and non-localites have been asked to upload test results from accredited laboratory. At one time, only 50 devotees will be allowed inside the temple for darshan at one time. Children and adults below 10 years and above 65 years respectively cannot register online.
Post Your Comments