Shopping malls, places of worship and restaurants in Delhi will finally reopen today, after a gap of about 75 days. However, as notified by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, hotels and banquet halls in the city will continue to remain closed. As the number of coronavirus cases is still on the rise, the government might need to transform these places into health care centres, if required. Also, the malls, restaurants and religious places will open up following certain guidelines. Read on to know the details.
Shopping Malls, Religious Places And Restaurants Open Up In Delhi Following Social Distancing Norms
While visiting the malls, eateries and places of worship, people have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of social distancing. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has declared standard operating procedures (SOPs) for these places. As per the guidelines, elderly people above 65 years of age and those with immunity diseases are advised to stay at home. It is compulsory for everyone to wear face masks. There will be sanitizers at the entry points of these public places and the visitors will have to undergo thermal screenings. Most of the malls in the Capital have placed contactless-sanitizer dispensers. Many malls have installed UV-sterilization chambers to disinfect peoples’ belongings. Some of them, like the Vegas Mall Dwarka, have mandated the use of Aarogya Setu App. The carrying capacities of elevators have been reduced by about 25 percent in these malls.
Restaurants will reopen, permitting only 50% of the total capacity, as per the MoHFW guidelines.
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What Else?
The places of worship in Delhi have rolled out their own set of rules. The temples, gurudwaras, mosques and churches in the city have made floor markings so that the devotees maintain safe distances from one another. Sanitizers have been put after every few metres. Apart from these, they have put bans on offerings of food and flowers. MoHFW has advised people visiting religious places to take off their shoes inside their own vehicles.
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As per reports, Delhi has around 100 big and small shopping malls, which generate a total revenue of nearly 500 crore for the Delhi Government. If you’re visiting these places now, you need to follow every safety protocol strictly, as the virus is spreading like wildfire. The number of confirmed cases in Delhi is around 27,654 now with nearly 761 deaths. On the brighter side, around 10,664 patients have recovered. We suggest that you stay at home unless it’s extremely necessary to step out.