Keypoints:
- CM Uddhav Thackeray has warned malls, restaurants, eateries and hotels to follow adequate norms and SOPs or be prepared to face a lockdown.
- The government has laid down certain SOPs and has asked the malls and restaurants to follow them and not to force the state to announce a lockdown which will hamper their business.
Amid the rising cases of Coronavirus, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has warned all the malls, restaurants, hotels and eateries to strictly follow the laid down SOPs or else be ready to face another lockdown. He also said that follow the given norms and don’t force the government to put the state into another lockdown which will hamper their business.
On Saturday, CM Thackeray also had a virtual meeting with industry’s representatives and he said that many of them were not following the laid down SOPs,especially 50% occupancy in restaurants, keeping 1-metre distance between tables and wearing of masks by all. He also said that Central team that was in Mumbai last week also complained about one such restaurant.
“When these sectors were allowed to reopen in October, there were some norms laid down for their functioning. They were followed for some time. But now, in many places, it is being noticed that no guidelines are being followed. We started the economic cycle. If everyone cooperates, the infection can be prevented, and we are not forced to impose strict restrictions like a lockdown,” Thackeray said.Thackeray also called for strict wearing of masks in public areas like washrooms and basins in a restaurant.
President of Hotel Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), Gurbaxish Singh Kohli said they have assured the government of all possible cooperation. “There may be some establishments that are not following the rules and we would not like the entire industry to suffer because of them. So, we have started our own squads that will go around checking for defaulters. We will report errant restaurants and hotels to the authorities for violations,” said Kohli. “To arrest a further spike in cases and prevent another lockdown, in our capacity as an industry association, we have been requested by the chief minister to form an internal group to maintain vigil and ensure existing SOPs are followed,” said Shivanand Shetty, president, AHAR.
