India has shut down the iconic Taj Mahal and other famous monuments as the country recorded its third death due to the Covid-19 disease yesterday.
Tourism ministry officials said tens of thousands of people visit the “monument to love” daily and it was crucial to close the site temporarily.
The stunning white marble edifice located in the northern city of Agra is India’s top tourist attraction and draws an estimated 7mn-8mn visitors annually.
At least 143 Indian monuments, including the Taj Mahal as well as museums across India were directed to shut down till March 31, Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Nanu Bhasin said.
Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said the decision will be reviewed after after the shutdown period.
“The decision has been taken with a view to halting the spread of coronavirus. We have to keep people safe,” Bhasin said.
According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the other monuments ordered to be closed include the famed 13th-century Sun Temple in Konark, the Buddhist monastic caves at Ajanta and Ellora and the landmark Qutb Minar monument in New Delhi.
Twenty-two World Heritage sites designated by Unesco in India under the ASI except for some religious monuments will also be closed, she added.
Most schools, malls and entertainment facilities, including cinemas, have already been closed across India in measures taken by state governments to control the spread of the disease.
India yesterday recorded its third death due to coronavirus in Maharashtra, the federal Health Ministry said.
The 63-year-old man, who returned from Dubai, died in a hospital early yesterday, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
He was under treatment at the state-run Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai for the past few days.
The country has so far 126 confirmed cases of coronavirus, of which 22 are foreign nationals.
Authorities said they have taken a number of measures to halt the spread of Covid-19.
It has suspended all incoming tourists and will prohibit non-Indian passengers on flights from a number of countries including from the European Union, Turkey, Britain, Philippines and Malaysia.
Travellers coming from or transiting through the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine when they arrive in India.
In New Delhi, federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India was using retroviral drugs to treat some of the coronavirus patients and approvals have been given after scientific scrutiny.
The minister said they were trying to do the best to deliver the best possible treatment to patients who have already been affected.
India with a population of 1.3bn has seen 126 confirmed cases and three deaths, making it among the countries not affected severely by the coronavirus so far.
But experts have warned that India is in a crucial phase where it needs to control community transmissions.
Health experts said that authorities were not testing enough people or was slow in testing suspected cases.
India has tested only about 6,000 people so far.
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