India pushes back Taj Mahal reopening
Tourists who hoped to get a glimpse of India's famed Taj Mahal on Monday (July 6) won't be able to visit anytime soon.
Local authorites have put a hold on the monument's scheduled reopening -- citing health risks.
The new advisory came late on Sunday, extending the lockdown curbs in and around the city of Agra.
It did not specify just how much longer people will have to wait to see the city's monuments -- which have been closed since March.
Agra, one of India's first big clusters of the health crisis, remains the most-affected city in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state.
India's case numbers are rising at the most rapid pace in three months.
On Sunday the health ministry reported a record single-day spike -- of nearly 25,000 cases.
But the government has been busy lifting a vast lockdown on the country's 1.3 billion people, which left businesses closed and tens of thousands of people without work.
While international flights are still suspended, domestic travel has opened up, and the government had hoped visitors will start trickling back to popular destinations.
It is not immediately clear whether the Indian government will also scrap its plans to reopen other monuments across the country, such as the historic Red Fort in New Delhi.
