India’s tourism icon, the Taj Mahal, reopens to the public today, July 6.
However the experience will be very different from the past.
Just 5,000 visitors will be allowed entry during the day, compared to a high season peak of up to 80,000 daily
A popular sight in front of and inside the attraction – group photos – are banned in order to comply with social distancing rules .
Masks must be worn by all visitors.
All tickets must be booked online and any purchases made on site must be non-cash.
Thermal scanning will take place at the entrance, and the flow of visitors and social distancing protocols will be strictly managed.
Other major historic attractions, such as the Red Fort in Delhi, also reopen on July 6 after a closure of three months, and will follow similar protocols.
"All centrally protected monuments and sites shall be bound by the protocols like sanitisation, social distancing and other health protocols," the tourism ministry tweeted.
The attractions reopen as India’s tally of Covid-19 cases continues to surge.
Sunday’s total of nearly 25,000 new cases was the highest one-day total yet since the pandemic started.
