India’s iconic Taj Mahal will remain closed, even as other monuments reopen around the country, due to the high risk of coronavirus, announced the Agra city district magistrate on Sunday.
All centrally protected monuments are reopening today, with new rules to prioritize “sanitation, social distancing & other health protocols,” according to the Ministry of Tourism.
While the Taj Mahal is among India’s centrally-protected monuments, the district magistrate’s order said that the monument would stay closed because it’s located in a “buffer zone” — an area between two containment zones where restrictions are in place to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Several other monuments in Agra, such as the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, will also remain closed, according to the order.
There are 3,691 centrally protected monuments nationwide, according to the Ministry of Culture. They have largely been shut since March 17.
Of these, about 820 monuments considered places of worship were allowed to reopen in early June. The rest finally reopen today, with new protocols like e-ticketing and a daily cap on visitor numbers.
