Kerala malls begin re-opening preparations for June 8 'Unlock-1' date; eye customer safety

Soon after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs gave its nod to reopen shopping malls outside the containment zones across the country from June 8, the management at various malls in Kerala have started its preparations to resume operations. The staff at the mall were seen sanitizing the area to ensure all safety precautions are met as per the Centre’s guidelines.

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“We all are waiting for the malls to reopen. We have to give a safe environment to the customers, therefore, our staff is busy sanitising the place right now. We have done markings around the mall to ensure that social distancing is followed,” Afshin KP, Manager at Mall of Travancore, told ANI.

Every floor will have an officer to monitor social distancing

The mall will have an officer on every floor who will be responsible to keep a check on social distancing. Sanitisation equipment has been kept at 30-35 locations in the building, Afshin said. He also added that the business at malls would take at least six months to a year for recovery from the impact of Covid-19.

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MHA Issues phase-wise reopening

In the first phase of 'Unlock 1', Religious places and places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services along with shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8, said the MHA. However, these facilities will not be able to resume operations inside containment zones designated by authorities in states.

The MHA said that the Health Ministry will issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all permitted activities in consultation with the central ministries or departments concerned and other stakeholders, for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In the second, schools, colleges and other educational institutions will be opened in consultation with respective states and Union Territories from July 2020. An SOP will be issued for the same by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW)

in the third phase, after further assessment of the prevalent COVID-19 conditions, resuming of international air travel, metros, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, social/political/sports/religious/cultural functions will be decided.

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(With agency inputs)