All religious places in Spiti Valley in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti have decided to close doors to the outsiders in wake of the Coronavirus scare.

These religious places include all the five famous monasteries Kye, Tabo, Dhankar, Kungri, Tnagud located in the picturesque Spiti Valley.

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Adopting social distancing from outsiders excluding government officials, it was decided that these monasteries will remain closed till 30 April and if needed could be extended further keeping in view the situation.

The decision was taken on Tuesday during a meeting held to restrict the entry of the tourist, both domestic as well as foreign tourist, who come visiting these popular religious monasteries that are a part of the Buddhist Circuit in Himachal Pradesh.

Kye Monastery Secretary Tenzin Chhulin said, “All the five monasteries actress the Spiti Valley have decided to go with the popular demand of the locals to shut the doors to the outsiders, as a part of precautionary measures in wake of the global coronavirus crisis that is taking a toll on human lives across the globe.

It was also suggested that the local natives, comprising of children and youth seeking education outside on the return to the valley, will have to be self-quarantined under supervision of the family for a period of 14 days as a safety measure, said a resident of Kaza Narender Rana, adding that it will also be ensured that they at least visit the hospital once for a medical check-up.

The social distancing from outsiders pan Spiti Valley has been adopted, after a uniform consensus of locals on the call given by the inhabitants of Kaza the headquarters of Spiti.

The natives of Kaza on Sunday, in an emergency meeting, had decided to restrict the entry of outsiders including tourist, migrant labourers and skilled workers for construction purpose in their area.

“Village level committees have been formed in around 65-villages of Spiti Valley for surveillance and monitoring,”  said Takpa Tenzin resident of Kaza and member of the core committee.

All the outsiders and tourists in Spiti have been asked to leave within three days, he added.

So far, Himachal has not witnessed any single positive case for Coronavirus.