Gyms, yoga institutes in Delhi to open at 50% capacity from Monday

According to a notification issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), weddings can also take place in hotels/banquet halls/marriage halls but not more than 50 guests can be in attendance.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said in a notification on Saturday that gymnasiums and yoga institutes in the national capital can open from Monday, while adding that marriages and wedding functions can also be held in hotels, banquet halls and marriage halls.

Delhi's iconic Connaught Place (HT Photo/File)

“Gymnasiums and yoga institutes will be permitted to open at up to 50% capacity. The owners shall be responsible for ensuring strict compliance of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. In case any violation is found, strict action will be taken against the owner, as well as the individual, and the premises will be sealed forthwith,” a DDMA notification, dated June 26, read. Public parks, gardens, golf clubs and outdoor activities will also be allowed, it said.

Additionally, the notification said, marriages will be allowed to take place in hotels/banquet halls/marriage halls with a maximum of 50 guests allowed to attend. Earlier, on June 13, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that marriages will be permitted only in courts or indoors with a ceiling of 20 attendees; this order, too, continues to stay in force. Similarly, 20 persons are allowed to attend funeral or last rite-related gatherings, as announced by Kejriwal that day.

Owners of hotels and banquet halls will be responsible to ensure Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and will have to face action, along with the defaulting individual, in case of a violation of the norms.

Also, restaurants and bars can open at 50% capacity for another week, from 5am on June 28 to 5am on July 5, as per the notification.

These directives come on a day when Delhi reported 85 Covid-19 cases and nine deaths from the preceding 24 hours, taking the Capital’s cumulative infection tally to 1,433,675, including 24,961 deaths due to coronavirus. This is the city’s lowest single-day rise in Covid-19 cases since last May.

Delhi began unlocking from May 31 amid a steady fall in its daily Covid-19 cases. The city was put under a lockdown on April 19 which was extended several times.