India to reopen Taj Mahal despite having second highest number of coronavirus cases

Country overtook Brazil this week

Monument to reopen on 21 September

Despite soaring coronavirus infection rates, India has announced that its most famous tourist attraction, the Taj Mahal, will reopen later this month.

“The Taj Mahal will reopen on 21 September,” said Amit Srivastava, deputy director of Uttar Pradesh state’s tourism department, adding that “all Covid-19 protocols”, such as social distancing and mandatory face masks, would be followed.

Visitor numbers to the Taj Mahal will also be reduced by three quarters, capped at 5,000 a day compared to the usual 20,000.

Surfaces will be regularly sanitised, while physical tickets will no longer be given out – tourists must book a timeslot online or via an app instead.

Visitors will also be thermally screened upon entry.

The attraction has been closed since 17 March, when the pandemic swept across the globe.  

It was originally due to reopen in July, but plans were scrapped after local infection rates were deemed too high.

The announcement directly follows the news that India has overtaken Brazil to become the country with the second highest number of Covid-19 cases.

There are currently more than 4.2 million confirmed cases – only the United States has more.

Uttar Pradesh, the northern state where the famous marble mausoleum is located, is India’s most populous region – and one of its worst-hit when it comes to coronavirus, with more than 265,000 cases.

Even before the pandemic, measures had been introduced to protect the Taj Mahal from overcrowding.

The Unesco World Heritage Site brought in a three-hour time limit on all visits in 2018.