Eat, pray, shop: K’taka gears up for reopening tomorrow

Eat, pray, shop: K’taka gears up for reopening tomorrow

Space Markers At Temples, Hotels & Malls

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:07.06.2020

In the biggest push to restoring normalcy in Unlock 1.0, malls, restaurants and places of worship across the state are all set to open tomorrow after over 70 days, though with strict adherence to central government’s guidelines on social distancing norms and public safety and health.

This comes even as the state’s Covid count went past the 5,000 mark with two deaths on Saturday and the number of infections going up to 5,213.

There was hectic activity at places of worship as the priests scrambled to comply with the government’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). For the moment, only those in non-containment zones will be opened. The distribution of prasad and theertha is banned though rituals can be performed.

Some religious places have decided to wait. BK Arshad of Masjid-e-Ibrahim Hinaya, said: “With number of cases increasing every day, it’s not appropriate to open the mosque. I’ve consulted epidemiologists and they suggested not to open at this point.” Mosques on the west coast and Madikeri too will not open.

Restaurants across the state are gearing up to open their doors for patrons. While eateries in Bengaluru have been providing takeaways and online deliveries for some time, customers can sit and dine there from Monday with strict conditions regulating their eating out.

“There are over 25,000 dining places in Bengaluru. Everyone is preparing for the Monday opening with sanitisation measures and distancing markings. Owners are taking no chances,” said Chandrashekar Hebbar, president, Karnataka Pradesh Hotel and Restaurant Association.

AWAITING FOOTFALL: Kukke Subramanya and (right) a Bengaluru mall gear up for visitors

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