The Taj Mahal reopened to visitors Wednesday, as Indian authorities loosened restrictions following an easing in the country's devastating recent coronavirus surge.

Infections and deaths soared to record levels in April and May, overwhelming health services in some places and prompting lockdowns and other curbs.

The Taj Mahal has reopened to visitors as India loosened restrictions following an easing of the country's coronavirus surge
The Taj Mahal has reopened to visitors as India loosened restrictions following an easing of the country's coronavirus surge AFP / Money SHARMA

Cases have declined in recent weeks, with several major cities including New Delhi and Mumbai easing many restrictions.

In Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located, tourist guides and shopkeepers were upbeat as India's top tourist attraction sprung back to life Wednesday.

The Taj Mahal was closed in March last year, reopened in September, and then shut again in April 2021
The Taj Mahal was closed in March last year, reopened in September, and then shut again in April 2021 AFP / Money SHARMA

The 17th-century monument of love built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was shut in March last year, reopened in September and closed again in April.

Crowds were thin on the first day of the reopening, with authorities restricting visitor numbers to 650 per day.

Crowds were thin on the first day of the Taj Mahal's reopening, with authorities restricting visitor numbers to 650 per day
Crowds were thin on the first day of the Taj Mahal's reopening, with authorities restricting visitor numbers to 650 per day AFP / Money SHARMA

Covid-19 precautions meant visitors were not allowed to touch the shining marble mausoleum, but those making the pilgrimage to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World were still delighted.

"I am very glad I got to see it, it is amazing," gushed Brazilian visitor Melissa Dalla Rosa, 40.

"I cried when I first saw, oh my God... (it was) a very special experience," she told AFP.

IMAGES Images of people visiting the Taj Mahal as India eases Covid-19 restrictions. The Taj Mahal had shut to visitors two months ago amid a deadly surge of coronavirus infections that swept the country.
IMAGES Images of people visiting the Taj Mahal as India eases Covid-19 restrictions. The Taj Mahal had shut to visitors two months ago amid a deadly surge of coronavirus infections that swept the country. AFPTV / Maude BRULARD

Lucky Feizan, 20, a shopkeeper, said the lockdown had squeezed hard those dependent on the Taj Mahal for their livelihood.

"This (was) the second wave of Covid. (With a) third I am finished," he told AFP.

India on Tuesday reported 62,224 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, compared with around 400,000 per day in April and May.

The total caseload now stands at almost 30 million with 380,000 deaths, although many experts say the true toll could be over a million.

Photos widely shared on social media last weekend showed busy shopping malls and markets in the capital New Delhi, raising fears that cases may rise again.

Cases of a usually very rare but deadly infection known as mucormycosis, or "black fungus", in coronavirus patients have also declined in many areas.

The western state of Maharashtra still has more than 7,000 active cases, however, according to reports.

The rise in these fungal infections, contracted by several thousand people, has been blamed on the excessive use of steroids to treat Covid patients.

Coronavirus