Cuttack: In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) on Tuesday imposed restrictions on the entry of devotees in all religious institutions under its jurisdiction.
As per the notification issued by the CMC, the restrictions have been enforced for the safety of public health after consultations with management committees of religious institutions.
No devotees will be allowed inside any religious institutions like Temples/Mosques/Gurudwaras/Churchs etc until further order by the CMC. However, the usual religious rituals in the places of worships will continue to be conducted with limited numbers of priests/staffs, the civic body said in the notification.
“The management committees of the religious institutions shall make provisions for daily thermal screening of priests/staffs before entry inside the premises. The committee shall also ensure provisions of hand washing at entry point for the priests and staff,” read the order.
Laying down guidelines for the priests, the CMC said, “The priests/staffs on rituals duty shall have to wear masks appropriately at all times and they shall also maintain social distancing guidelines while inside the institution premises.”
Cuttack city has been witnessing more than 100 COVID cases since the last two days. While 102 positive cases were detected on April 18, the subsequent day, April 19 saw the daily COVID numbers reaching 150.
Earlier in the day, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also barred entry of devotees into the religious institutions from today.
(Edited By Ramakanta Biswas)