Religious places have reopened in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district after nearly six months, and devotees have been asked to strictly follow all guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In an order issued late Monday evening, district Collector Manish Singh asked devotees and priests to wear masks properly covering the nose and mouth and follow the social distancing norms.

Sanitisers and use of soap will be mandatory at all religious places in the district, the order said. Devotees will not be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of temples, it said.

People will have to maintain a distance of six feet from each other while attending feasts at religious places, the order said. Managements of temples and other religious places in the district will have to ensure that all guidelines are followed, it further said.

The district administration has also allowed reopening of the Sarafa night food market in the city only for takeaways, officials said. The permission to open religious places in Indore comes at a time when there is a surge in COVID-19 cases in the worst-hit district of the state.

The district has till now reported 23,524 COVID-19 cases and 558 deaths due to the disease, as per official data. PTI HWP LAL MAS NSK GK GK