COVID LOCKDOWN: GOVT CLARIFIES ON OPENING OF BARBERSHOPS, LIQUOR SHOPS AND SALONS

A day after standalone and neighbourhood shops were allowed to stay open by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the ministry has clarified that sale of liquor remains prohibited as specified in the National Directives for COVID-19 management. It further said that e-commerce companies can continue with their sales for essential goods only. 

The ministry clarified that all restaurants, salons and barbershops would remain closed, following several queries seeking clarification of the order. “They render services and the relaxations given under lockdown restrictions yesterday pertain only to shops selling items,” a spokesperson said. The order implied that in rural areas, all shops, except those in shopping malls, are allowed to open.

Meanwhile, in urban areas, all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to open. Shops in markets /market complexes and shopping malls, however, are exempt.  However, all these don't apply to areas declared as containment zones or hotspots and no shops will be allowed to open in these areas.

The Union Home Ministry recently said, “All shops, including neighbourhood shops and standalone shops, shops in residential complexes, within the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State and UT," will be allowed to open during the lockdown. The shops were to mandatorily have 50 per cent strength of workers, who must sport masks and follow social distancing.