The Centre has issued new guidelines to be followed at public places like malls, restaurants and religious places for preventing the spread of COVID19.
The central government issued fresh guidelines on Thursday (March 4) adding to the previous guidelines, including mandatory wearing of face masks and social distancing.
The central government in its order directed the shopping malls to have adequate manpower for ensuring social distance norms.
The Centre said the employees working at these places are at higher risks of coming in contact with the virus.
Keeping this in mind, the central government has asked these individuals to take extra precautions.
Guidelines for shopping malls:
1) Adequate manpower to be deployed for ensuring social distance norms.
2) All employees with higher risks to take extra precautions.
3) They should not be exposed to front-line work requiring direct contact with the public.
4) Separate entry and exit for visitors, workers and goods\supplies to be ensured.
Other than the shopping malls, the Centre has put emphasis on implementation of the new set of guidelines in the restaurants, including takeaways to be encouraged instead of dine-in and food delivery should be done duly by following COVID19 precautions.
The restaurants should ensure proper thermal screening procedures are in place for home delivery staff, as they are at higher risks as well.
Guidelines for restaurants:
1) Encourage takeaways instead of dine-in, food delivery to be done duly following COVID precautions.
2) Thermal screening of home delivery staff prior to allowing them for home deliveries.
3) Proper crowd management in parking lots and outside the premises duly following social distancing norms.
4) Maintaining physical distance of 6 feet while queuing up for entry and inside the restaurant.
The new guidelines have come into effect from March 1.
In religious places, the Centre said, hand hygiene and thermal screening procedure at entry must be mandatorily followed.
The order said only asymptomatic people will be allowed to enter religious places.
Guidelines for religious places:
1) Entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene and thermal screening procedure.
2) Only asymptomatic people will be allowed.
3) People without face mask will not be allowed.
4) Posters on preventive measures about coronavirus to be displayed at prominent places
5) Staggering of visitors to be done.
The Union health ministry on Thursday said six states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka, continued to report a surge in new COVID19 cases on a daily basis.
These states account for 85.51% of fresh cases, the health ministry said adding that a total of 17,407 new infections have been registered in a day.