Covid-19: Maharashtra govt imposes stricter norms till Mar 31 for hotels, cinema halls, offices

Mumbai, Mar 16: The Maharashtra government said on Monday extended restrictions imposed containment zones till March 31 and issued fresh guidelines for the state.

Cinema halls, hotels, restaurants and offices except those related to health and essential services will function at 50 percent capacity till March 31.

Violation of norms will result in the shutting down of the establishment as long as the Central government's notification of the Covid-19 pandemic as a "disaster" is in force, it said.

Nobody will be allowed inside these establishments without wearing a mask and a temperature check, the state government said in a notification as Maharashtra again recorded 15,000-plus new cases of infection on Monday.

Establishments (cinema halls, hotels, offices) will ensure they have enough personnel to enforce the mask rule as well as physical distancing by all visitors.

These restrictions will be applicable to shopping malls too.

The 50 per cent capacity rule will not apply to offices dealing with health and other essential services.

As far as possible, employees should be asked to work from home, the state notification said.

No social, cultural, religious gatherings will be allowed, while no more than 50 people will be allowed to be present at weddings. Action will be taken against the owners of premises (such as wedding halls) if these norms are violated, the government said.

For the last rites of a person, not more than 20 people will be allowed to be present.

In the case of home isolation, the patient must inform local authorities about the medical professional under whose supervision he or she is.

A board will be put up on the door for 14 days indicating the presence of Covid-19 patient at the location. Patients will be stamped "home quarantine" on the hand.

If patients violate these norms, they will be shifted to Covid care centres.

Management bodies of all religious places have been asked to decide and declare the maximum number of visitors per hour they will allow, depending on the availability of space for movement and gatheringwith proper distancing.

The state had reported 15,051 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the state's caseload to 23,29,464, while 48 fatalities took the death toll to 52,909, the health department said.

As many as 10,671 coronavirus patients were discharged, taking the rally of recoveries to 21,44,743.

Weeklong lockdown started in Nagpur district.