Customers shop at an outlet in City Center, as commercial centres reopened with limited capacity yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot/ThePeninsula
Some shops and outlets operating in malls and shopping centres reopened their doors for customers as the first phase of lifting of restrictions kicked-off yesterday.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a recent circular allowed partial opening of some shops in the commercial centres, provided that the outlet’s floor space is not less than 300 square metres.
The decision came under the first stage of the gradual lifting of restrictions on malls and shopping centres.
The malls and shopping centres were found adhering strictly to the state preventive and precautionary measures in term of measuring temperatures of customers at the entrance, checking health status in Ehteraz mobile app, and enforcing use of face mask, gloves and social distance.
Volunteers and security personnel are helping customers in complying with the preventive and precautionary measures.
Volunteers from the Qatar Red Crescent Society are also working at various shopping centres to help implement the safety guidelines.
In addition to the main entrances to the malls, almost all stores operating inside major shopping centres are also measuring temperatures of customers and checking the health status on the mobile app.
Malls and stores have placed stickers instructing visitors to maintain social distancing.
Customers returned to clothing, sports and toy shops and electronic showrooms among others which reopened yesterday as part of the first phase of lifting of coronavirus restrictions in the country.
Ashok Gubta, a salesman at a clothing store, said trousers and T-shirts were among most selling items yesterday.
“My mobile is giving me trouble as it hangs frequently. I came to buy a new mobile from the electronic shop,” Ahmad Abdurrashid, an AC Mechanic told The Peninsula while shopping at a mall.
Abdurrashid said that he was waiting for a while to open the mobile shop at the mall because they run promotions occasionally.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has allowed malls and shopping centres to operate during weekdays from 8am to 8pm. They will be closed on Fridays and Saturdays.
Malls and shopping centres have reduced the number of parking spaces available to visitors to 50 percent and are operating at less than 30 percent of their regular capacity.
Malls and shopping centres can allow shoppers in the premises only after checking the colour code identifying the individual’s health condition in the Ehteraz app. Only green code holders are allowed to enter.
They are also required to bar people not wearing a medical mask and compel visitors to wear one throughout their time at the mall.
Those under the age of 12 and over 60 years are not allowed to enter the malls.
