Religious places, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels reopen today

New Delhi: Religious places, shopping malls, restaurant, hotels and offices which remained shut due to COVID-19 lockdown, are set to reopen from Monday.

However, such establishments will be allowed to open in only non-containment zones. They will have to follow all the guidelines issued by the Central government in this regard so that social distancing could be ensured.

As per the guidelines related to religious places, only asymptomatic persons will be allowed and no physical offerings like prasad and distribution or sprinkling of holy water is permitted.

Touching of statues, idols, and holy books in places of worships will be strictly prohibited and use of face masks will be mandatory.

The individuals have been asked to maintain a distance of six feet. Community kitchens, langars and Ann-Daan at religious places should follow physical distancing norms while preparing and distributing food.

As per the guidelines, in shopping malls, only asymptomatic staff and customers will be allowed and children play areas, cinema halls and gaming arcades in malls will remain closed.

To ensure social distancing norms, adequate manpower must be deployed by the mall management. In the malls, only 50 per cent of seating capacity is allowed in food court area.

The guidelines issued for restaurants said that the entrance will have mandatory hand hygiene and thermal screening provisions. Takeaways to be encouraged instead of dine in and not more than 50 per cent of the seating capacity should be permitted in the restaurants.

For hotels, details of the guests like travel history, medical conditions along with ID and self declaration form must be provided at the reception. Rooms and other service will be sanitized each time a guest leaves. Kitchen area must be sanitized at regular intervals.

For offices, only asymptomatic staff and visitors will be allowed inside the area. People residing in the containment zone should work from home. The seating arrangement in offices should be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained.