When museums, monuments and archaeological sites re-open to the public, visitors may have to buy tickets online, wear masks and follow social distancing norms, according to Union Culture Ministry officials who are preparing a post-COVID-19 lockdown standard operating procedure (SOP).

The Culture Ministry had closed its museums and monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the public from March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While a decision on re-opening and the rules to be followed for that would be notified by the National Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs, a senior Culture Ministry official said an SOP was being drafted for safe opening of museums and monuments.

The official said online-only ticketing system, mandatory wearing of masks by all, and placement of hand sanitisers to maintain hygieine were being considered as a part of the SOP. Limiting the number of visitors at a given time was also being considered, the official said.

Another official said guidelines for the tourism sector, including hotels, would also be drawn up as a large number of visitors to the cultural sites are tourists.

The Culture Ministry had first closed the 143 ticketed monuments and museums under the ASI and the National Museum in Delhi from March 17, before closing all 3,691 Centrally-protected monuments from the next day. The closures were initially till March 31 and were extended along with the national lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.