Care and caution as Kerala moves to Unlock 1.0

KOZHIKODE/KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala slowly stepped out of a two-and-a-half-month lockdown as malls, religious places and restaurants opened across districts under strict conditions, limiting the number of people and ensuring sanitisation at all premises.
It was a sight of spirituality and safety going hand in hand when Sreekanteswara Temple in Kozhikode opened its doors to the public on Tuesday.Adapting to Covid-19 times, temple authorities changed traditional timings (5am-12 noon) to 6.30am to 10.30am and barred the entry of devotees inside the sanctum sanctorum.
Only 57 devotees visited on the first day as against the usual figure of over 200. “Temple entry was allowed in strict compliance to government SOP,” said Sheeba T, a staff at the temple. She added that an aged person was sent back in line with the guidelines. Major temples like Thali and temples under Kshethra Samrakshana Samiti remained closed.
Malls in Kozhikode opened with below-normal footfalls. Instead of the soothing ambient mall music, Focus Mall had announcements about Covid-19 safety measures through ceiling speakers. Also, mall authorities put stickers on the floor to ensure that visitors followed social distancing norms.
Hotel owners in Kozhikode decided not to allow dine-in facility for the moment.
In Kochi, malls opened with elaborate sanitization and crowd-control measures but the footfalls were less. LuLu, the biggest mall in Kochi, said it witnessed a footfall of 20,000, a fraction of its normal crowd. Centre Square Mall officials said the crowd was 10% less than what they experienced on a normal week day. Visitors were asked to share their name, contact details and location to make contact tracing easier.
Restaurants reopened with dine-in option but trade association office-bearers said people were not enthused. KHRA state general secretary G Jayapal said restaurants opened following 50% capacity norm. “Only a few turned up. Two persons were allowed to be seated at a table meant for four. Many restaurants didn’t open because it is not profitable,” he said. The only condition they could not adhere to was providing two separate doorways for entry and exit.
Jacobite church officials said while some of their churches were open for sanitization on Tuesday, worship would be on Sundays. “We don’t expect over 50 people to attend holy mass. Some large churches may be open for worship on Saturday,” said Fr Sleeba Paul Vattavelil, priest trustee of Jacobite Church. Churches under Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese decided not to reopen till June 30. Diocese of Latin Church, including Verapoly and Cochin, also had announced their decision to not open churches. The holy episcopal synod of the Orthodox Church on Tuesday decided not to open the churches for the faithful in haste.
The scene was no different in the capital, where footfalls at malls were low. Most customers who were dining at the mall’s food court were families.