Amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis and Centre’s guidelines for the reopening of religious gathering with a ceiling of 100 people, the Jharkhand government said a maximum of 50 people can enter a place of worship at a time, adding that devotees must wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Religious places in the state have been allowed to re-open on Thursday after a period of over six months.
A notification issued by chief secretary Sukhdev Singh on Wednesday night read that places of worship in areas other than containment zones are allowed to re-open and heads of these places of worship must adhere to the Covid-19 protocol.
Here are some of the instructions put forth under the notification:
1. Not more than 50 people will gather at a time at any place of worship and a distance of six feet must be maintained
2. No fairs or religious processions will be organised and only those with masks will be allowed to enter the premises.
3. Priests or clerics will have to wear masks and devotees should not hug each other or touch idols, sacred texts or bells.
4. People are required to bring mats from their homes and they are not allowed to sit together to sing or speak.
{{/usCountry}}4. People are required to bring mats from their homes and they are not allowed to sit together to sing or speak.
{{/usCountry}}5. Priests cannot give ‘prasad’ to devotees or sprinkle water on them.
6. Sanitisers will be kept at the entrance of the religious institutions and a person who has symptoms will be allowed to enter.
7. Floors of the religious institutions will have to be sanitised several times a day.
8. Cafeterias and shops near places of worship will have to follow Covid-19 protocols.
The notification highlighted that strict action will be taken against those who are found violating the Covid-19 protocols.
The Ramgarh district administration made it mandatory for devotees to have online tokens for entry into the renowned Chinnamastaka Temple at Rajrappa.
Meanwhile, 829 more people tested for Covid-19 in Jharkhand which pushed the state’s Covid-19 tally to 89,702, a health official said. The total cases include 9,759 active cases, over 79,000 recoveries and 767 deaths, the official added.
(With PTI inputs)