Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said the district administration has decided to do away with the 50 per cent occupancy restrictions placed on restaurants, cinema halls and theatres, among others, in view of the improvement in the COVID-19 situation.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar said cinema halls and auditoriums can operate at 100 per cent capacity but patrons will have to wear masks and follow pandemic protocols strictly, while open-air programmes will also be allowed with adequate precaution.
Pawar also said that passengers arriving in Pune by flights will not have to spend too much time at the airport for verification of COVID-19 norms due to relaxation provided recently.
He said airline operators check the vaccination or RT-PCR status of all passengers at the time of selling tickets as well as boarding, so the norm of waiting at the airport here for a few hours after arrival has been relaxed.
The state will follow the norms laid down by the Central government for international passengers, he added.
Pawar said the Jumbo Covid-19 hospitals set up at the College of Engineering, Pune and Bhosari will not be dismantled as yet. He said that considering the concerns sparked by the emergence of the new coronavirus variant, the infrastructure will remain in place and a decision regarding the dismantling of the hospitals will be taken towards the end of December.
