Restaurants, malls to stay shut in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: The district administration is planning not to open restaurants, shopping malls and religious places to the public in Unlock 1, a day after the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) set out a three-phase plan for easing of the lockdown on Saturday.
The Centre’s guidelines permit reopening of malls, hotels and restaurants, inter-state travel and religious places in keeping with standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be issued by the health ministry. The administration will issue its guidelines on Monday.
The decision comes after Gurugram divisional commissioner Ashok Sangwan held a meeting with various stakeholders from the hotel and hospitality industry, restaurants and religious institutions to chalk out a plan to reopen the district in a phased manner.
“We are planning to lift the lockdown in phases. Religious places will be opened after a safety mechanism is put in place with regular sanitisation of touch points and adherence to social distancing,” Sangwan said.
All the participants were asked to send their suggestions through email. In the meeting, representatives of religious institutions suggested that it would be better if the religious places are closed for the general public at present to avoid large gathering of devotees.
Hotel representatives said they should be allowed to resume services as they are ready to follow the government’s guidelines.
Some hotels are currently hosting people brought from abroad under the Vande Bharat Abhiyan. According to MHA guidelines, room service can be allowed, but people from outside cannot be allowed to eat or have food.
Representatives of restaurants also suggested that by adopting social distancing, a small number of customers should allow to eat inside their premises.
They sought that restaurants be allowed to operate with 50% seating capacity. After assessing the situation on whether social distancing norms and other security measures are followed, a decision can be taken on whether to continue or stop that arrangement, they said.
Meanwhile, Gurugram deputy commissioner Amit Khatri on Sunday issued an order easing the 7pm-7am night curfew to 9pm-5am till June 30.
“Movement of any individual whatsoever for non-essential purposes shall henceforth remain restricted between 9pm to 5am within the district,” it said.
The order also advised senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses to avoid venturing out in the open. “Persons above the age of 65, those having comorbidities or suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years shall avoid coming out in open except in the case of medical emergency or essential requirement,” it said.