CHENNAI: All places of worship -- small and big -- in non-containment areas across the state will reopen for the public from Tuesday.
Big temples were closed for public worship on March 19 in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and later, other places of worship were also closed.
From July 1 onwards, small places of worship were opened for the public gradually across the state in phases.
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for places of worship issued on Monday said: "The maximum number of devotees permitted for darshan per day shall be fixed and only a limited number of persons shall be allowed inside religious places/places of worship and sanctum sanctorum at a single point of time. Further, public worship will be allowed in places of worship only up to 8 p.m."
Persons above 65 years of age, those with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay at home. Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of six feet in public places. They should also observe physical distancing of a minimum of six feet at all times even when queuing up for entry. Individuals shall avoid physical contact while greeting others.
Use of face covers/masks is mandatory. Besides, only asymptomatic persons will be allowed inside the premises after the thermal screening.
Shoes/footwear should be preferably taken off inside one’s own vehicle. If needed, they should be kept in separate slots for each individual/family by the persons themselves with adequate hygiene arrangements.
People should wash their hands and feet with soap before entering the premises.
Necessary facilities should be provided for this purpose. Touching of statues/idols/holy books, etc., will not be allowed. No physical offerings like prasad/distribution or a sprinkling of holy water, etc., will be allowed inside the religious place.
Each place of worship has been advised to form a Covid-19 safety committee to implement and monitor the guidelines issued by the government.
When contacted, officials of Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore told The New Indian Express that the number of devotees to be allowed per day cannot be fixed immediately. Depending on the experience on the first day, it will be fixed.
"We have organised fences around the outer 'prahara' of the temple and the devotees cannot go around the temple. Instead, they are allowed to enter the temple through the eastern gate and exit from the western gate so that crowding at entry point can be avoided," said an official.
Officials also said devotees will not be allowed to sit in the temple and will not be allowed to go around the sanctum sanctorum. Instead, they could have darshan from outside the sanctum sanctorum and leave.