Gurugram, Faridabad malls open today: Here is what you can and cannot do

Two important cities of Haryana – Gurugram and Faridabad – on Monday have opened malls for public, after almost three months. The malls will operate under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) given by the government and will be penalised if they fail to. Barring Faridabad and Gurugram, malls were open in the rest of Haryana as the state government on June 8 had decided against opening shopping malls and religious places due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Here is the list of things you can and cannot do in malls –

The entrance of all the malls will have hand hygiene (sanitizer dispenser) and thermal screening provisions. Only asymptomatic customers/visitors shall be allowed. All workers/customers/visitors to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks. The face cover/masks have to be worn at all times inside the shopping mall.

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Posters/standees/AV media on preventive measures about COVID-19 to be displayed prominently. The mall managements have been asked to deploy enough people to ensure that social distancing is practiced. 

All employees who are at higher risk i.e. older employees, pregnant employees, and employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public. 

Preferably separate entry and exits for visitors, workers and goods/supplies shall be organized. The staff for home deliveries shall be screened thermally by the shopping mall authorities prior to allowing home deliveries.

The number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social distancing norms. The use of escalators with one person on alternate steps may be encouraged. For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which inter alia emphasises that the temperature setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30oC, relative humidity should be in the range of 40-70%, intake of fresh air should be as much as possible and cross ventilation should be adequate.

The food courts have been asked to ensure adequate crowd control and queues. In food courts and restaurants, not more than 50% of the seating capacity to be permitted. The seating arrangement should ensure adequate social distancing between patrons as far as feasible. Contactless mode of ordering and digital mode of payment (using e-wallets) to be encouraged.

Gaming Arcades shall remain closed. Children's Play Areas shall remain closed. Cinema halls inside shopping malls shall remain closed.