We are open,er… almost

Additionally,unwell guests with room reservations in any of the Ramee Hotels have been requested,via e-mail,to restrict their stay. “People have responded well,remarking on how we’ve put precaution before business. We have boards all around the disco,toilets and restaurant and have a sufficient stock of masks,” says Singh.

On the other hand,Dhruv Ghanekar,proprietor of Blue Frog,says there has been no difference in footfalls. “So far,we have not seen a decline in numbers at Blue Frog. We do not scan our guests as yet but our employees have been advised to drink a litre of water,wash hands and have multivitamins,” says Ghanekar.

Earlier in the day,Health Minister Rajendra Shingne said malls have been advised to restrict advertisements promoting sales that would lead to crowding.

“The Chief Minister has already advised all event organisers and theatres,malls to ensure that there is no crowding. Though there are no directives,we are expecting them to reduce crowd at these places,” said Sharvaree Gokhale,additional chief secretary.

Aarti Poddar,marketing head at Provogue,is concerned. “Though I have not heard this decision officially,if it is passed,it will affect business since people will think twice before venturing out. Our store is a luxury lifestyle brand so we do not have that much crowd,however since it is part of the mall,this will affect us,” says Poddar. The store hasn’t taken any precautions.

Venues like Prithvi Theatre have been running as usual. The manager of Prithvi,Lalit Sathe,says,“Saturday-Sunday we had a full-house and while the auditorium was closed on Monday,the café was crowded. We plan to put up a sign warning infected people to avoid attending,but this depends on (proprietor) Sanjna Kapoor.”

At NCPA,the visitor flow has been normal. Ticket sales have so far not been affected by the swine flu scare. “We are planning to issue some masks to the staff,” reports Mariadas Varse the NCPA’s HR head.

Some multiplexes are concerned. “We have requested ill staff to stay at home. We have instant hand sanitisers for staff and patrons and disinfectant for rails and public property,” says Alok Tandon,CEO of Inox. While Fun Republic’s CEO Vishal Kapoor says,“We do not want to create a panic. We have not issued our staff masks; however if the government passes an order to shut down,we will comply.”

While others are not really worried,“It is business as usual and we are continuing with our events,” says Girish Wankhede of Cinemax.

(Inputs from Alaka Sahani)