JAKARTA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The magnificent Borobudur temple in Indonesia, the biggest Buddhist shrine in the world, was reopened on Thursday as an effort to boost the tourism sector which has been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a local official said.
The UNESCO World Heritage site situated in Magelang district, Central Java province, will operate under tight health protocols with the number of visitors restricted to 1,500 people per day or 10 to 15 percent of its maximum capacity, Head of the province's Youth, Sports and Tourism Office Sinoeng N Rachmadi said.
The number of visitors is limited to avert turning up crowds which are vulnerable to the transmission of the flu-like disease in the iconic tourist destination, the official said.
Meanwhile, Magelang District Head Zaenal Arifin also said that the Borobudur temple has applied tight health protocols to curb the spread of the COVID-19 in the tourist destination.
Prior to the reopening, local officials and PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, a company which manages the tourist site, have carried out health protocol simulations three times at the temple and its compound, according to media reports.
Although the number of additional cases remains afloat, Indonesia has been gradually reopening the economy to make tourist destinations get back to operations under tight health protocols as the country is gearing up for a new normal scenario.
More than half of the country's areas have advanced to the low risk status as they have nearly obliterated the spread of the virus, according to the COVID-19 Task Force. Enditem
