On Tuesday, August 17, the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) said that they have decided to voluntarily close down the malls, especially in Mumbai, as they are unable to comply with the state government’s vaccination requirements.
The Maharashtra government announced the relaxation of curbs across the state with effect from August 15 as the coronavirus cases witness a downward trend. Earlier, it was mentioned that employees who have gotten just one COVID-19 dose will be allowed in Mumbai malls.
However, in a revised order on August 16, the Maharashtra government said that all malls can remain open until 10 pm. But, it was mandatory for their staff as well as customers to be fully vaccinated with a 14-day cooling period. In addition, the government said children below 18 years of age can enter malls by showing proof of age.
The management of the malls argued that they will not be able to open and operate in accordance with the new norms as it would take at least another month (tentatively September-end) before a sizeable number of employees are fully vaccinated and meet the 14-day criteria.
Malls and retail industry bodies began vaccinating staff only in June, and so most of the employees will not be eligible for a second dose until the end of August. As in the case of covishield, there is an 84-day gap between the two doses and hence many of our staff are still waiting to complete the same before taking the second dose.
Currently, only 5-10 per cent of staff in malls are fully vaccinated, while over 90 per cent have been vaccinated with the first dose.
According to reports, in the western suburbs, malls like Inorbit and Infiniti at Malad, Growel's 101 Mall in Kandivali, and in the eastern suburbs R City in Ghatkopar, all remained shut on Tuesday, August 17.
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