As the government decided to open up religious places in Jammu and Kashmir from August 16, the Jammu divisional commissioner on Thursday held a meeting with representatives of religious organisations to discuss the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Representative image(PTI)

Jammu:

Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma appreciated the religious heads for their cooperation in the containment of COVID-19 and said that they played a significant role by spreading awareness among people, an official spokesman said.  He also appreciated the general public for their cooperation in fighting the pandemic. 

The divisional commissioner apprised the religious heads about the instructions and SOPs to be followed at places of the worship and also shared copies of the SOPs with the religious heads.

Among the general instructions for the religious organisations are the directions to set up coronavirus safety committees which may consist of volunteers, sevadars and employees, the spokesman said.

"These committees shall be required to ensure adherence to the SOPs. People above 60 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay home," he added.

All visitors are required to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other and they will be allowed to enter only if they are using face covers and masks.

Only asymptomatic people will be allowed entry into the premises, and it is necessary to wash hands and feet with soap and water before going inside, spokesman said.

All places of worship will maintain a list of people (with contact details) entering their premises which may be required for the purpose of contact tracing, he said.

"Touching of statues, idols or holy books etc. should not be permitted, large congregational gatherings should not be allowed inside premises and only individual prayers should be allowed," he added.  The divisional commissioner also stressed on the need to sanitize the premises on a regular basis.

The religious heads assured their full cooperation with the administration to contain the spread of the pandemic.