- Title: India to reopen Taj Mahal with social distancing, masks
- Date: 5th July 2020
- Summary: AGRA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (JULY 03, 2020) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) TAJ MAHAL MONUMENT SEEN FROM TERRACE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING VARIOUS OF TAJ MAHAL VARIOUS OF GATE LEADING TO TAJ MAHAL EMPTY TICKET BOOKING COUNTER SECURITY PERSONNEL OUTSIDE TAJ MAHAL (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) PRESIDENT OF APPROVED TOUR GUIDE ASSOCIATION, SHAMSHUDDIN KHAN, SAYING: "It's great news and has brought cheer to guides. Work that was closed for months will now start again. This will give a boost to tourism sector. This will benefit all the sectors involved in the tourism sector." NEW DELHI, INDIA (JULY 05, 2020) (ANI- NO USE INDIA) BARRICADES OUTSIDE QUTUB MINAR MONUMENT QUTUB MINAR MONUMENT VARIOUS OF SECURITY GUARDSMAKING CIRCLES ON PAVEMENT QR CODE PLACED TO BOOK TICKETS SECURITY GUARDS USING SANITIZER VARIOUS OF PLAQUE READING (Hindi/English): "HUMANYUN'S TOMB" DISINFECTANT BEING SPRAYED ON TICKET COUNTERS DISINFECTANT BEING SPRAYED ON ENTRY POINTS SANTIZER DISINFECTANT BEING SPRAYED ON ENTRY POINTS POSTER STATING WEARING MASK IS MANDATORY HUMAYUN'S TOMB MONUMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) NEW DELHI RESIDENT, MEGHNA AWASTHI, SAYING: "There is fear of coronavirus but it's not that much because if we follow social distancing, and sanitize our hands, then it's alright to roam outside." PEOPLE WALKING OUTSIDE GATE OF SAFDARJUNG TOMB MONUMENT GATE OF TOMB VARIOUS OF SAFDARJUNG TOMB MONUMENT VARIOUS OF GUARD CHECKING TEMPERATURE OF A MAN GUARDS DRAWING CIRCLES ON ROAD CIRCLE ON ROAD POSTER STATING WEARING MASK IS MANDATORY GATE OF SAFDARJUNG TOMB MONUMENT AREA
- Embargoed: 19th July 2020 13:22
- Keywords: Humayun’s Tomb India Qutub Minar Taj Mahal coronavirus health monuments tourism tourists
- Location: AGRA, UTTAR PRADESH/NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: AGRA, UTTAR PRADESH/NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CLJ7LN3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Visitors to the Taj Mahal will have to wear masks at all times, keep their distance and not touch its glistening marble surfaces when India's 17th-century monument to love reopens on Monday after a three-month COVID-19 shutdown.
Only 5,000 tourists will be allowed in a day, split into two groups, a far cry from peak levels of 80,000 a day who would swarm the mausoleum built in the northern city of Agra by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife, in a 22-year effort.
"All centrally protected monuments & sites shall be bound by the protocols like sanitization, social distancing & other health protocols," the federal tourism ministry said in a tweet.
Authorities are reopening the Taj and other monuments, such as New Delhi's historic Red Fort, just as India's coronavirus infections are rising at the fastest pace in three months.
On Sunday, the health ministry reported a record single-day spike of 24,850 new cases and more than 600 deaths, pushing the overall case tally to 673,165, closing in on Russia, the third-most affected country globally.
But the government has been lifting a vast lockdown of India's 1.3 billion people that has left tens of thousands without work and shuttered businesses.
While international flights remain suspended, domestic travel has been opened up, and the government is hoping visitors will start to trickle back to some popular destinations. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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