The Kerala government said on Saturday that shops in malls would be allowed to operate on August 11 under the same circumstances as other businesses and after completing all necessary preparations.
Persons must be deployed at all entry points of malls to ensure COVID-19 protocols, such as wearing masks, using hand sanitisers, temperature checks, and social distancing, are strictly followed before people enter the shops, according to an order issued by the state’s Disaster Management department.
“District Collectors must deploy special teams to oversee the successful functioning of the Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and to guarantee that RRTs considerably improve surveillance and contact tracing,” stated Chief Secretary V P Joy in his order.
The current directive supplements one issued on August 4 that allows stores, marketplaces, banks, offices, financial institutions, factories, industrial enterprises, open tourism areas, and other establishments to open six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
From August 5, all stores and other enterprises will be permitted to operate from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. to minimise congestion, according to an earlier directive.
It had also requested that all stores, tourism centers, and other businesses post the status of their staff’ vaccinations as well as the maximum number of clients allowed at any one moment.
According to the August 4 directive, it is the obligation of the owner of such facilities to prevent congestion both inside and outside the shop, and enforcement authorities will perform checks and take measures to guarantee this.
According to the most recent directive, the same requirements would apply to retailers in malls.
Schools, universities, movie halls, in-house dining in hotels and restaurants, and malls were only allowed to open for online delivery and educational institutions were only authorised to offer online instruction, according to the August 4 directive.
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