The reopening of the iconic Taj Mahal in India has been postponed due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the city of Agra.
The announcement was made on Sunday, July 5, the night before the Taj Mahal was due to reopen, according to Travel + Leisure.
The Taj Mahal in the city of Agra.
‘In the interest of the public, it has been decided that opening monuments in Agra will not be advisable as of now,’ district authorities said in a notice, according to Reuters.
A new date of reopening has not been announced yet.
On Sunday, the city recorded 24,850 new cases and more than 600 deaths on a single day, according to Reuters. The country’s borders are closed, but domestic travel and tourism have been slowly reopening despite the spike in coronavirus cases.
The country says it will encourage local tourism, but with popular attractions like the Taj Mahal still closed, many are not hopeful. ‘We don’t expect visitors here because clusters around the Taj, including shops and hotels are closed,’ a local district administration official told Reuters.
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