Malls and shopping centres in the national capital re-opened on Monday after two-and-a-half months with only a few stepping out to shop and eat.
Most shops and restaurants reopened at Saket’s Select City Walk, one of the prominent malls in the city but only a few shoppers visited it in the initial hours. Proper sanitization measures were put in place everywhere to avoid the spread of Coronavirus. Besides, all common areas were being sanitised at a regular interval.
Staff were deputed at the entrance for measuring body temperature of visitors entering the premises. A contactless sanitiser dispenser and a disinfection tunnel have been installed at the entry gate of the mall.
Most shops pasted stickers on the floor to help visitors maintain physical distancing and the employees wore masks, face shields and gloves. Announcements were being made, asking people to follow social distancing norms and wear masks all the time.
One of the staff members said only those with the Aarogya Setu application on their mobile phones were being allowed to enter.
“The shopping centre has introduced subtle changes in design and layout across entrances, public spaces. Crowd control and footfalls will be kept as outlined by the government across the premises, public spaces and retail outlets to ensure that social distancing norms can be followed correctly,” a spokesperson for Select City Walk, Saket, told PTI.
Most of the shops and offices at the 3CS Mall in Lajpat Nagar, however, remained shut.
Those who reopened shutters after a hiatus of two months said business was lean. The staff at a popular fast food restaurant said only four people had dropped by in the first three hours.
“Normally, we record around 200 footfalls till lunch. Today, only four people have come so far. People are scared. It will take months for normalcy to return,” one of them said.
“We have been taking the temperature of the visitors and providing them hand sanitiser at the entry gate. Our staff has gone through an extensive screening process and has been maintaining a distance of two feet among them,” an employee of the store said.