COVID-19 - "Backbone Of Community": What Anand Mahindra Said On Local Shops Opening

Re-opening of neighbourhood shops will improve their chances of survival and boost the morale of the people, industrialist Anand Mahindra said after the government's late-night order, allowing all shops in residential areas - except those in malls - to re-open from Saturday with conditions. The relaxations come during the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus.

"Excellent. Neighbourhood stores are the backbone of a community. They are the most vulnerable to the financial stress of a lockdown. Their re-opening will improve their chances of survival and boost our morale as well! I hope they will also be able to make home deliveries," Anand Mahindra tweeted on Saturday afternoon.

The new order comes as big relief for traders as well as residents after a month of the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, which is due to end on May 3.

The relaxations will not apply to areas that are COVID-19 hotspots or containment areas, with a large number of infections.

For the first time in a month, local shops selling both essential and non-essential goods can open. Malls, cinemas and market complexes will stay closed, the government says. However, with public transport still closed, employees of shops that can re-open could still find it tough to get to work.

The government, in the morning, clarified that e-commerce companies can only sell essential items. All restaurants, salons and barber shops will remain closed, the Union Home Ministry tweeted in another clarification.

The Home Ministry also says masks, gloves and social distancing norms will be a must for workers in establishments that open. States can decide whether they want to continue with the restrictions, the government said. Delhi, the state with the third-highest cases of COVID-19 in the country, has said it will decide in two days whether to reopen shops as allowed by the latest order.

In Mumbai, while some shops opened on Saturday morning, the police said there is no relaxation in the lockdown orders. With 6,817 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country and Mumbai alone has over 4,400 cases.