Masks, sanitisers and social distance rules for New Year\'s Eve

Hyderabad: A party with revellers wearing face masks may not be desirable or fun. But, as in previous years, masks, sanitisers, and social distance regulations are a harsh reality when celebrating this New Year as well.

As the city prepares to ring in the New Year, the hospitality and food businesses have planned a variety of activities for New Year's Eve, including creative menus of cakes with slogans such as 'Mask up’, but revellers must comply with Covid regulations, wear masks, and keep social distance.

Amid the Omicron BF.7 variant scare, the venues are equipped with hand sanitisers, masks, and social distancing rules to ensure a safe and cheerful start to the year. Some organisers will even be screening those who attend the party for vaccination certificates. Srikanth Goud, the organiser of a New Year party at Siddhi Vinayak Nagar, the massive venue is currently being sanitised using electrostatic disinfectants.

"We have also suggested that our guests arrive at the venue with their masks and sanitisers; we will also be providing some," he told Deccan Chronicle.

While no social distance-appropriate measures have been created at the venue, the organisers will advise revellers to keep good physical distance while partying. However, all bookings are done online, and vaccination status is checked before making a final payment, Srikanth Goud informed.

Masking and social distancing will be strictly followed, according to Amarjeet Singh, director of marketing of a restaurant in Jubilee Hills. "Even food and drinks will be served while wearing masks and gloves. Everyone, from bouncers to ushers, will be on guard,” he stated.

Swetha Reddy Arikatla, director of a resort on the city's outskirts, said that because pools and other activities where people congregate can cause the spread of infections, special care is being taken to ensure the pool is properly cleaned with disinfectants, and guests will also be asked to be mindful of personal hygiene.

While party organisers will scrupulously adhere to Covid protocols, the food and business industry appear to be capitalising on the New Year's fervour by putting a 'cautionary' spin to their menus. Social media users are sharing images of cakes with messages such as 'Mask up,' 'Say no to drunk driving’, and so on.

Since cakes are the centre of attraction at every party, Niharika Gourineni, director of a major bakery in the city, said people have been purchasing cakes with rather amusing and inventive slogans to get their point through. "A traffic cop asked for a cake with the socially relevant message 'Don't Drink and Drive,' a teacher asked for a cake with a message of world peace, and a fin-tech company asked for a cake with the phrase 'Go Digital’," she said.

Not only the party organisers and food businesses, but churches throughout the city will follow self-imposed Covid regulations as they observe midnight services to ring in the New Year, where thousands assemble to pray and wish one other.

Gyana Prakash, secretary of the Baptist Church in Narayanaguda, stated that because the Telangana government has not yet advised Covid regulations, they have instructed the congregation to follow the basic protocols. "We have encouraged our members to care for their neighbours by adhering to simple guidelines such as masking up and maintaining social distance," he explained.