821 ASI monuments with places of worship to open from Monday

AGRA: The Union government has announced the opening of 821 centrally protected monuments under the ASI that house places of worship from Monday. ASI director-general V Vidyavathi confirmed that the order has been issued.
All 3,691 ASI-protected sites in the country were shut on March 17 in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Of these, only 821 places will reopen from June 8. It includes 111 such places in Uttar Pradesh, 153 in Karnataka, 77 in Gujarat, 75 in Tamil Nadu, 65 in Maharashtra, and 60 in Madhya Pradesh.
Interestingly, mosques in Agra, like Fatehpuri masjid on the south-west corner of the Taj Mahal complex, the Kali Masjid, Shahi Masjid, Kamal Khan’s Dargah, Humayun mosque, etc, that are within the ASI monuments will remain shut.
So will world heritage site monuments Fatehpur Sikri's Jami masjid and Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chisti.
The local administration has decided against opening them because of the large number of Covid positive cases in the city at 967 and 50 deaths. In fact, no religious places are being opened in Agra at present. Maharashtra, too, is unlikely to open the 65 monuments under its jurisdiction for a similar reason.
The note issued by the ministry of culture on Sunday has directed ASI to ensure preventive measures as spelt out in standard opening procedures (SOP) to contain the spread of Covid-19. Hand sanitisers and thermal screening will be a must. Only asymptomatic visitors will be allowed entry and they will have to wear masks.