The Maharashtra government said restaurant staff and visitors should be fully vaccinated.

Mumbai:

The restaurants in Maharashtra will remain open till midnight and shops till 11 pm from today, with the Uddhav Thackeray government relaxing the curbs imposed due to the Covid outbreak.  Earlier, both were allowed to remain open till 10 pm.

The government, however, said it was essential for restaurant staff to be fully vaccinated and insisted on the same for patrons.

“In order to prevent the transmission of the Covid 19 virus, restrictions like regulating of time, scrupulous adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour, requirements of service providers as well as visitors to be fully vaccinated, restrictions on occupancy etc. have been imposed” upon various establishments, the government said.

As an additional measure, the local authorities have been allowed to cut down on timings in need. But any further extension of time cannot be made without special permission, the government said.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Office tweeted the news, along with a copy of the order.

Restaurants & eateries can now remain open till 12 midnight, while shops and establishments can stay open till 11 pm with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/HqPXctl620

— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) October 19, 2021

The government had taken a decision to extend the timing on Monday. In its order, it explained that in view of the coming festival season, the restrictions on time for shops, restaurants and hotels will lead to more crowding.

With the Covid numbers showing a steady decline, the state government had also announced that amusement parks, theatres and cinema halls will reopen. Theatres and cinema halls will be open from October 22.

The government had kept up a strict regimen of curbs and vigilance during Ganesh Puja — Maharashtra’s biggest festival — last month.

After initially insisting on Covid safety measures at pandals, the state government had barred people from visiting pandals. Only online ‘darshan’ or telecast from pandals would be allowed, the state had sad amid a spike in Covid cases.

“Who would like to impose restrictions on festivals and religious programmes? But people’s lives are important,” Mr Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.