Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Mayor Diwakar Pandeshwar has asked the corporators to create awareness among the public about COVID-19 and to maintain cleanliness in their respective wards.
He was speaking after releasing pamphlets pertaining to coronavirus and the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, at the MCC auditorium on Wednesday, March 18. “Corporators should visit their wards frequently and create awareness about the safety measures. Meanwhile, corporators should ensure that hotels, hostels and public places in their wards are clean and safe,” he said.
MCC Commissioner Shanady Ajith Kumar Hegde has given instructions to those running paying guest accommodations, hostels, supermarkets with regard to precautionary measures. He said that as holidays have been declared for schools and colleges, the heads of PGs and hostels should ask the students to vacate. However, if the students want to stay in the PG or hostels, adequate safety and cleaning measures should be undertaken. If PGs or hostels are found violating this direction, stringent action will be taken against them.
Supermarkets and other marts are prohibited from using ‘time-bound sale’ tactics to attract customers such as “limited period offers”. In order to prevent large gatherings at shopping malls, the public will be allowed to shop from 10 am to 7 pm. Hand railings, door locks, handles, billing tables and floors should be cleaned frequently with sodium hypochlorite, bleaching powder or with effective anti-infection lotions. Shopping malls should ensure that customers use alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the malls. If any mall staff has a fever, cold, cough or any respiratory problems, they should be sent on leave. The malls’ management should ensure that there are no crowd at billing counters and adequate staff should be deployed to prevent rush during the weekends.
Commissioner Hegde also informed that all gyms, swimming pools and parks would be closed as a precautionary measure. Residential apartments should provide soap and sanitizer dispenser for housekeeping staff and should maintain cleanliness. Residential apartment associations should not allow public meetings in their premises. Apartments should ensure cleanliness in their lifts, he stressed.
