Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 13: As the Government has decided to open up the religious places in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from August 16, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Sanjeev Verma, today held a meeting with representatives of religious organisations to discuss Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The meeting was attended by Additional Commissioner Jammu, R K Srangal, besides the representatives and heads of religious organisations.
The Divisional Commissioner appreciated the religious heads for their cooperation in the containment of COVID-19 and said that they played a significant role by spreading awareness among people. He also appreciated the general public for the cooperation in fighting COVID-19.
The Divisional Commissioner appraised the religious heads about the instructions, SOPs to be followed at places of the worship. He also shared the copy of SOP with the religious heads and urged them to follow all instructions.
The general instructions (SOP)s among others call for religious organisations to set up COVID-19 safety committees, which may consist of volunteers/sevadars/employees. These committees shall be required to ensure adherence to the SOP. Persons above 60 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay home.
All visitors are required to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other, all visitors are to be allowed enter only if they are using face covers/masks, only asymptomatic persons would be allowed entry into the premises, washing hands, feet with soap and water before entering premises. All places of worship will maintain a list of persons (with contactable details) entering their places which may be required for the purpose of contact tracing.
Touching of statues, idols or holy books etc. should not be permitted; large congregational gatherings shall not be allowed inside premises only individual prayers to be allowed.
The Divisional Commissioner also stressed on the need to sanitize the premises on a regular basis by fixation of timing of fumigation, cleanliness.
Various other important instructions were given to religious heads and the Divisional Commissioner urged them to follow these to combat the spread of Covid-19.
The religious heads assured to extend their full cooperation with the administration to contain the spread of COVID-19.
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