Delhi Unlock: Gyms to reopen, banquet halls allowed to host marriages with 50 people from today

Following a continuous decline in new coronavirus cases in Delhi, the state government has been easing the lockdown curbs in a phased manner since last four weeks. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), on Saturday night, released new guidelines for phase 5 of unlocking in the National Capital. The guidelines came into effect at 5 am today and will remain in force till 5 am on 5 July As per the new set of guidelines, gyms, yoga centres, and hotels are allowed to open at 50 percent capacity while marriages are permitted in banquet halls in the presence of 50 people. However, the owners will have to make sure that appropriate COVID-19 behaviour is followed in the premises. On the other hand, education institutions and cinema halls will still remain closed. Here’s a list of what’s allowed and what’s exempted from today: Activities that are allowed:

• Gymnasiums and Yoga institutes are permitted to open up to 50 percent of the capacity
• Public parks, golf clubs, garden and outdoor yoga allowed
• Marriages permitted in banquet halls, marriage halls, and hotels with a maximum of 50 people in attendance. The owners will be responsible for ensuring strict compliance with COVID-19 guidelines
• Weddings at home and court are permitted with a maximum of 20 people in attendance
• Restaurants up to 50 percent capacity are allowed to open from 8.00 am to 10.00 pm, while bars are permitted with 50 percent capacity from noon to 10.00 pm
• All markets, malls, shops are allowed to open between 10 am and 8 pm
• No restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. Only essential activities are allowed in containment zones
• Last rites/funeral related gathering with up to 20 persons allowed
• Religious places shall be permitted to open but no visitors are allowed
• Government and private offices are allowed to function with restrictions. In government offices, 100 percent of grade I staff allowed and upto 50 percent of grade one staff will be allowed as per the requirement assessed by the concerned HOD.
• In private offices, 0nly 50 percent staff is allowed between 9 am and 5 pm. Private offices are advised to stagger timings and presenc of staff to ensure social distancing.
• Weekly markets have been allowed but only with one in each zone a day. Only half of the permitted vendors will be allowed to put up stalls.
• Public transport  —Metro services aand buses with 50 percent seating capacity.
• Auto rickshaws and taxis with two  passengers,RTVs with 11 passengers at the most

Activities that are not allowed:

• Schools, colleges, and educational institutes will remain closed
• Cinemas and multiplexes are still not allowed to function
• Swimming pools, stadia and sports complexes (except those being used for training sportspersons in national and international events)
• Entertainment and amusement parks will remain closed
• All social, political, academic, religious, sports, festival-related gatherings are not allowed to take place
• Banquet halls will remain closed, except for marriages
• Weekly markets on roadsides will not be allowed.
• Business to business exhibitions
• Auditoriums and assembly halls
• Spas

All other existing prohibited and restricted activities will continue to be so up to 5 am on 5 July, the DDMA order added. On Sunday, 27 June, Delhi reported 89 new coronavirus cases and four deaths. This was the second consecutive day when the reported cases were below 100. According to the health bulletin, the positive rate was 0.12 percent.