BHOPAL: The Bhopal administration has allowed religious places outside COVID-19 containment zones in the district to reopen from Monday after a gap of about two- and-a-half months.
In an order issued on Saturday, the district administration said authorities at the religious places need to ensure that social distancing guidelines are followed, and put in place all safety measures.
Devotees will not be allowed to touch the idols or religious books and there would be no distribution of 'prasad' (religious offering of food), the order said.
People will need to perform 'Wudu' (ablution before prayers) at their homes before visiting mosques, it said.
Religious singing, choirs, recital of Gurbani and any kind of gathering or religious function would not be allowed, it said.
Devotees will have to maintain a distance of six feet from each other, the order said.
All religious places are needed to adhere to the guidelines and standard operating procedures prescribed by the Centre and the state government, it added.
Till Saturday, Bhopal reported 2,145 COVID-19 cases and 69 deaths due to the disease.
Earlier, following the easing of lockdown, religious places in several districts of Madhya Pradesh were allowed to reopen from June 8, but no decision was taken at that time for the state capital Bhopal.
The famous Mahakaleshwar temple in the state's Ujjain city, located about 175 km from Bhopal, reopened for devotees last week.
The temple, one of the 12 'jyotirlingas' in the country, attracts lakhs of devotees every year.
The number pf COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh reached 10,641 on Saturday after 198 new cases were detected, with Bhopal accounting for 63 of them, an official said.
With seven patients succumbing to the infection in the day, the death toll has risen to 447, he said.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the state increased by 2,552 since lockdown restrictions were eased after May 31, while 97 people lost their lives during the same period, the official said.
Since Friday, Bhopal reported 63 cases, followed by 57 in Indore, among the worst-hit districts in the country.
Two deaths each were reported in Indore and Jabalpur, one each in Neemuch, Sagar and Khargone, the official said.
No new coronavirus case was reported in 26 districts since Friday evening.
Cases have been reported from 51 of the 52 districts in MP, five of them not having any active case as on Saturday, a health department bulletin informed.
The number of cases in Indore increased by 57 to reach 4,029, while the death toll stood at 166.
Bhopal has 2,145 COVID-19 cases, and 69 have succumbed to the infection.
Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases: 10,641, active cases: 2,817, new cases: 198, death toll: 447, recovered: 7,377, people tested so far: 2,46,973.