Maharashtra: Malls, restaurants to operate till 10 pm from August 15, check SOPs

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Restaurants across the state have been allowed to remain open till 10 pm. The malls, also allowed to roll up their shutters, will entertain only fully vaccinated patrons. However, multiplexes in malls, single screens, drama theatres and places of worship will remain closed till further orders. The new orders will come into effect from August 15.

The schools, announced to be operational after August 17 by the education department, are unlikely to reopen because CM Uddhav Thackeray wants to go by the advice of state Covid Task Force which has given a red signal to sending minors to the schools as state prepares for the third wave of the pandemic.

Health minister Rajesh Tope announced these decisions on Wednesday after the state Cabinet meeting. Patrons, who got their second Covid-19 shot 14 days back, can visit the malls with a final vaccination certificate (of second dose), which the entry management staff will check.

More details of the standard operating procedures will be announced by the state and local body governments.

"Restaurants at 50 per cent capacity and malls have been given conditional permission. The employees and management staff must be fully vaccinated. The clients must wear masks in the waiting area of the restaurants. Mall managements must ensure that the people working on the premises are fully vaccinated, and also take up the responsibility of screening the visitors for their two-dose vaccination status," said Tope.

Visitors should carry a physical or digital copy to the malls for verification. "The majority will have the certificates in their smartphones," said Tope.

He stated further that the restaurants must make sitting arrangements keeping in mind the dire need of physical distancing. The waiters and other support staff must wear masks all the time. "Violations that are found during checks will be taken seriously and the restaurants will be shut till further notice," added the minister.

Under revised rules, an indoor marriage party can have a maximum of 100 people while for outdoor parties, the cap will be 200.

Tope said the cabinet decided to keep multiplexes, single screens, theatres, cultural centres and places of worship shut for some reasons. "The decision will be revised in the future. Their shutdown is not forever," he added.

Schools uncertain

According to Tope, the Covid Task Force has unanimously opposed the school education department's decision of reopening schools from August 17. CM Thackeray had convened a meeting of the task force, school education and health departments on Wednesday evening. "The CM will make the final decision after the meeting," he said. Sources said the CM was in favour of the task force's opinion.

About colleges, the health department has asked vice-chancellors to seek the view of educational societies that run under and post graduate courses in higher and technical education.

24x7 for private offices

Tope said the private offices are allowed to remain open 24x7 but have been requested to stagger working hours for facilitating shifts to avoid crowding in workplaces and transport.

Need for medical oxygen will decide next lockdown

The Cabinet decided to impose the next lockdown once the state requires 700MT of oxygen per day in the event of third wave infections. "It will happen in auto mode. We are telling it in advance," said Tope.

He said the state, with its enhanced capacity of 2000MT/day, will not be able to meet the projected need of 3500MT/day. "Experts expect the third wave caseload to be one and a half times of the second wave. We know what we went through during the second wave," he added.