Most housing colonies haven’t issued guidelines to residents and visitors regarding safety measures despite the government’s preparations for rising COVID-19 cases
A security guard of Mittal Tower in south Mumbai checks the temperature of a visitor. File pic
This time around, housing societies are biding their time before issuing guidelines for residents and visitors, despite the rising COVID-19 cases in other parts of the world. The government has started to update healthcare infrastructure in preparation for a rise in cases here, but hasn’t yet issued any strict rules. Some citizens have started taking precautionary measures on their own.
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During the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, many societies acted proactively to curb the spread of the virus on their premises. From keeping sanitisers at the entrance to sanitising lobbies and other areas, from limited entries for visitors to frequent testing of maids, drivers, housing societies had implemented many safety measures. “We don’t need a repeat of the panic and have not issued any safety measures as a knee jerk reaction, as it will do more harm than good,” said the secretary of a housing society at Malabar Hill.
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Though some members have started requesting societies to issue guidelines, the rules cannot be enforced without government backing. Indrani Malkani, founder member of the Little Gibbs Road ALM said, “Societies can issue restrictions or guidelines only on the basis of government orders, otherwise they will not be followed by the members. We may advise members to wear masks in crowded places or follow COVID appropriate behaviour but we cannot issue notices until the government enforces them. The Karnataka government has made masks mandatory, if our government issues such rules we will follow them.” She added that they have continued to use sanitisers as a general hygiene measure.
“There aren’t any guidelines issued by any societies that I know of,” said Aditi Jain, president of Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CRPA).
“Though there aren’t any rules on paper, they are being followed by the members. The sanitisers unit has been revitalised and put in use again. There are many visitors from courier companies, so we started to regularise it. Members are also individually following COVID guidelines set up by the government,” said Dhaval Shah, from a Lokhandwala housing society at Andheri.
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