New Delhi, March 16 (IANS): The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has decided to bar entry of all foreign nationals who have not completed a 15-day stay in the country, into gurudwaras in Delhi.

With the coronavirus outbreak gradually building up in the country, the DSGMC has initiated a series of precautionary measures in line with the government advisories to control its spread in devotees visiting any of the gurudwaras in the national capital.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President, DSGMC, said on Monday that only those foreigners who have stayed in India for more than 15 days will be allowed entry to gurudwaras.

To check the transmission of the coronavirus, sanitising and washing hands with soap has been made mandatory for all the serving staff at gurudwaras with immediate effect. This is in addition to regularly disinfecting furniture and main areas of the gurudwaras.

People of other faiths, and 'sahajdhari' Sikhs visiting gurdwaras, have been advised to bring their own headscarf to cover their head which is mandatory to gain entry in the main hall. Gurudwara authorities have stopped providing them to visiting devotees as a preventive measure to check transmission of coronavirus.

Sirsa also said that henceforth all devotees visiting the gurudwaras will be requested to partake of the 'prasad' from the main langar halls only.

He said that it has been decided to avoid cooking of raw vegetables in 'Langars' and instead cook packaged rice and pulses in the langar as preventive measures.

He said that DSGMC is seriously considering the checking of all devotees for virus infection before entry to gurdwaras, as a health safety measure if the situation warrants in the days ahead.

The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in two deaths and 114 confirmed cases till date in India. Globally, more than 1,70,000 confirmed cases have been reported till date.