This time around, housing societies are biding their time before issuing guidelines for residents and visitors, despite the rising COVID-19 cases in other parts of the world. The government has started to update healthcare infrastructure in preparation for a rise in cases here, but hasn’t yet issued any strict rules. Some citizens have started taking precautionary measures on their own.

During the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, many societies acted proactively to curb the spread of the virus on their premises. From keeping sanitisers at the entrance to sanitising lobbies and other areas, from limited entries for visitors to frequent testing of maids, drivers, housing societies had implemented many safety measures. “We don’t need a repeat of the panic and have not issued any safety measures as a knee jerk reaction, as it will do more harm than good,” said the secretary of a housing society at Malabar Hill.