Malls and market complexes in Mira Bhayander civic limits in Thane district can open from Monday as per an order issued by municipal commissioner Vijay Rathod.

The order, issued on Sunday under ‘Mission Begin Again’ to gradually ease lockdown restrictions, is applicable to establishments in non-containment zones of Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation.

“They can operate between 9am to 7pm. Cinemas, food courts and restaurants in them are excluded from the order. Food courts and kitchens can operate takeaway service. All social distancing norms in place will have to be followed strictly,” an official said.

As many as 1,590 new COVID-19 cases and 29 casualties were reported in Maharashtra's Thane district, while Thane city for the first time recorded zero deaths, an official said on Friday.

With the latest cases recorded on Thursday, the tally in the district now stands at 1,28,429, of which maximum cases have been reported in Kalyan at 30,054, followed by Navi Mumbai at 27,112, the official said.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) issued guidelines stating that citizens will have to undergo mandatory antigen testing before entering any mall in the city from Friday. The civic body has also deployed four teams at Thane railway station to test passengers coming to the city from other states or districts.

“As per the state government’s directives, malls have been reopened in Thane city. As more and more people are likely to visit them in the coming days, especially during the weekends, we plan to test every individual, including the staff, visiting the malls. The teams to conduct the tests are stationed at the entrance of the malls. As more number of people are also visiting the city from other states and cities, four of our teams have been stationed at Thane railway station,” said municipal commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma.

Manoj K Agarwal, chief executive officer of Viviana Mall, said, “As a part of the safety drive to break the chain of the spread of the pandemic, antigen testing of customers has been initiated. We are providing complete cooperation [to the civic corporation] and this is an additional safety measure along with the other precautions taken by us within the mall premises.”

However, residents who visited the malls have claimed that antigen tests are being conducted randomly and not everybody is getting tested.

“I visited the mall on Friday evening and there were people with testing kits. But they randomly chose a few people for the tests. I was let inside the mall after my temperature and oxygen levels were checked,” said Aakruti Pandit, 32, a resident of Panchpakhadi.

TMC has refuted these claims. “We have initiated testing for every customer in the mall,” said TMC deputy commissioner Ashok Burpulle.

With an aim to curb the spread of the virus, TMC has increased testing across the city and also initiated antigen tests at crowded areas. On Thursday, 5,052 antigen tests were conducted across various spots in the city as a part of this initiative.

inputs from www.hindustantimes.com