In Pictures: Places of worship reopen in India with caution being the key

Following news that places of worship will reopen in New Delhi today - albeit with strict social distancing protocols in place and with ‘caution’ being the key - devotees have been thronging back after months of closures. Here, a woman is seen sanitizing her hands as she arrives to offer prayers at the Jhandewala temple. Authorities are demanding that face masks are worn, hands are sanitized and distances are kept in order to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

The Bangla Sahib Gurudwara has fitted a sanitizing tunnel that devotees must walk through before entering to offer prayers, in New Delhi. Indian Authorities have permitted to reopen all religious places - but with restrictions in place - during the fifth phase of the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Hindu devotees wait in line to offer prayers at the Alopidevi temple in Allahabad - but it is not just places of worship that are being reopened; hotels, restaurants and shopping malls are also being allowed to operate again after more than two months of lockdown which was imposed as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

Maintaining social distancing protocols and wearing face masks, these Hindu devotees wait in line to pray at the Bade Hanuman temple, in Allahabad.

Christians offer prayers at St. Theresa church and leave plenty of room between the pews, in Kolkata on Monday.

A healthcare worker checks the temperature of a Muslim before allowing him to enter the Jamma Masjid in the old quarters of New Delhi.

Devotees undergo thermal screening at the Sri Krishna Janmasthan temple, in Mathura.

Once inside a mosque in Lucknow, these Muslims offer a holy 'Chaadar'.

Sikhs seen adhering to social distancing regulations while offering prayers at the Yahiyaganj Gurudwara, in Lucknow.

Christian women offering prayers inside the Cathedral church, in Lucknow.

This Hindu temple remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kochi, Kerala, but devotees offer their prayers from outside.

A healthcare worker checks the temperature of a woman as she arrives to pray at the Jhandewala temple, in New Delhi.

Hindu devotees wait in lines, donning face masks, to pray at the Jhandewala temple, in New Delhi today.