The Haryana Government has allowed shopping malls in Gurugram and Faridabad to reopen from July 1, more than three months after they were shut to stem the spread of COVID-19. According to an order issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Haryana Urban Local Bodies Department, the district administrations have been given permission to reopen malls in Gurugram and Faridabad in the National Capital Region.
After the order, the Gurugram District Administration said it would implement the State Government's decision on reopening of shopping malls, whereas the Faridabad authorities will take a final call on the matter in a meeting on Monday. The Haryana Government had earlier allowed malls to reopen from June 7 across the state, barring Gurugram and Faridabad that accounted for overwhelming proportions of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the state.
According to the Health Department’s bulletin, Gurugram has reported 5124 cases till Sunday morning while Faridabad had 3325 cases. The COVID-19 death toll in Gurugram was 83 and in Faridabad 71.“The State Government had restricted the opening of shopping malls in the districts of Gurugram and Faridabad due to large numbers of COVID-19 cases in these two districts while in all other municipalities, their opening was allowed vide order dated June 7, 2020. Now, it has been decided to allow opening of shopping malls in these two districts ie Gurugram and Faridabad wef July 1, 2020.
However, to regulate and restrict the number of visitors in these shipping malls in order to maintain social distancing, the stakeholders will follow the standard operating procedure (SOP),” stated the order issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Local Bodies Department, Haryana.
The State Government in its order has listed out various restrictions to ensure social distancing in malls and has categorically said only 50 per cent of the total sitting capacity in restaurants is allowed.
As per the SOP, the malls can open between 9 am and 8 pm, but cinema halls, gaming arcades, children play areas will continue to remain closed. It also said that all the precautions like social distancing and wearing of masks need to be followed by the visitors and mall workers at all times.The SOP also said that the visitors need to install the Aarogya Setu app.