Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra have been increasing, and the state government for the last few months had imposed a lockdown across all the cities, owing to which hotels, restaurants and bars remained closed for the last six months. Until now, food businesses were operational only as delivery kitchens, however, in the recently released guidelines, the government has permitted restaurants to reopen for the public, but with 50 per cent seating capacity.

The same will be applicable from October 5, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has released the rules and guidelines for the same and has asked the businesses to follow them strictly for citizens' safety.

As per the guidelines, restaurants will have to focus on pre-booking and delivery models to avoid crowd and congestion at the premises. Social distancing will have to be maintained between tables and sanitisation has to be the prime focus. Besides this, temperature check, thermal screening and the use of handwash or sanitizers will be mandatory.

Below mentioned are the guidelines suggested by the BMC to ensure safety at the hotels, bars and eateries.

• Pre-booking of the table in hotels will have to be considered as a priority so that no more than a certain number of customers can come to the hotel at a time
•  A distance of 2 to 3 feet has to be maintained between the two tables
•  Tables and kitchens need to be cleaned frequently
• The hotel staff will also need to undergo medical tests and COVID tests on a regular basis.

Data released by the state health department reveals that Maharashtra, as of October 2, 2020, has a total of 14,16,513 cases along with 37,480 deaths. Of the total cases, Mumbai has more than 2.1 lakh cases and 9000 deaths.