Telangana: Eat, pray or shop, but watch your step if you plan to go out

HYDERABAD: After a 77-day hiatus and amidst rising Covid-19 cases, malls, restaurants, hotels and places of worship are set to open in non-containment zones in Telangana from Monday.
This comes even as the state’s Covid-19 count has surpassed the 3,500 mark with 154 new cases on Sunday.
While eagerly waiting for customers to return to their favourite haunts, malls in the city have taken up a slew of measures as per state government’s guidelines on social distancing norms.
“From thermal screening and sanitisation at the entrance to social distancing in food court and other common areas, we have taken up measures to ensure safety of all those visiting the mall. Not all shops may be open as stores will individually take a call on resumption of operations. We don’t expect the same kind of footfall as it was in December,” said Indraneel Majumdar, head, Sarath City Capital Mall.
Dining out with your family or friends is set to be a more contact-less and digital experience than ever as hotels and restaurants in the city have introduced new set of norms to ensure safety of diners.
Distancing must at all shrines
Dining will mark entry of digital menu cards, contactless buffets, fumigation of hoes, baggage during check-ins to ensure compliance of safety rules.
“Limited menu with popular items will be offered for the first few weeks as we expect low footfall. We expect the business to pick up over the next two months once the number of Covid-19 cases drop,” said Jagdish Rao, secretary, Telangana State Hotels Association. Guests checking in hotels will have to follow an elaborate SOP such as disinfecting shoe-soles, thermal screening. Shrines too will be maintaining social distancing among devotees.
Distribution of prasadam and holy water has been banned, though rituals can be performed with less attendance.