Even with 90,000 Daily COVID-19 Cases... India Reopens Taj Mahal

India Chooses Economic Recovery Over COVID-19 Prevention
Most Daily Life Restrictions Lifted

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Despite the ongoing crisis in India, where 80,000 to 90,000 new COVID-19 cases are reported daily, India has reopened the Taj Mahal, a world cultural heritage site. With most restrictions on daily life lifted and major tourist facilities reopening, concerns about the spread of the virus are growing.

According to Indian media on the 21st, Indian authorities reopened the Taj Mahal, which had been closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Taj Mahal had remained closed despite most heritage sites across India reopening in July this year due to opposition from local authorities. The closure of this world-renowned cultural heritage site, which attracts numerous tourists, was aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The Taj Mahal, which had been closed to visitors since March 17th of this year, has reopened. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Indian government has decided to limit the number of daily visitors to the Taj Mahal to 5,000, which is one-quarter of the usual number, and to implement preventive measures such as maintaining distance between tourists. Earlier this year, India implemented the world's largest lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, but as economic difficulties intensified, it has begun lifting the measures taken to prevent the spread. The reopening of the Taj Mahal symbolizes this series of emergency measure relaxations. Both inside and outside India, there are concerns that reopening the Taj Mahal might send the wrong signal to Indian citizens regarding mask-wearing and social distancing.

India already has the highest number of new COVID-19 cases reported by any country in the world. According to the international statistics site Worldometer, on the 20th, India reported 87,382 new COVID-19 cases, the highest globally. This is more than twice the 33,344 new cases reported in the United States. Because of this, global health authorities are concerned that India, with a cumulative total of 5,487,580 confirmed cases, will soon surpass the United States (7,004,768 cases) to become the country with the highest number of COVID-19 cases worldwide.

India issued a nationwide lockdown at the end of March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Due to the severe economic impact and the hardships faced by the poor, the policy focus shifted from containment to economic recovery. Since this policy shift, the number of new COVID-19 cases in India has begun to increase exponentially.

However, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is reported to be 87,909. This is lower than Brazil’s death toll of 136,895, despite Brazil having 4,544,629 cumulative confirmed cases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.