Mumbai: As the lockdown in Maharashtra ends on September 30, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government has prepared guidelines with the intent to reopen restaurants in the first week of October and shared them with stakeholders for feedback.
“The state government has framed SOPs for reopening restaurants and those have been sent to the people concerned. A decision about reopening restaurants will be taken once these (SOPs) are finalised,” the statement quoted Thackeray as saying. The chief minister interacted with representatives of associations of restaurateurs from Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur via video conferencing, an official statement said.
Thackeray laid emphasis on wearing masks, cleaning hands and maintaining physical distance while living with COVID-19 and added these precautions need to be taken when restaurants are reopened.
“It will be important to take care of the health of chefs and other staffers in restaurants. They must wear masks, clean hands and ensure safety and cleanliness in restaurants,” the chief minister said.
Restaurants in Maharashtra have remained closed for dine-in services since March when the nationwide coronavirus lockdown was imposed. So far, restaurants have been only allowed to deliver food or pick-ups by customers.