guwahati the assam state zoocumbotanical garden here which remained closed for almost 10 months due to the covid19 outbreak is set to reopen from january 2 next yeartejas mariswamy the divisional forest officer of the state zoo said a standard operating procedure sop has been issued for the reopening all covid19 protocols will be strictly followed to prevent the spread of the virus he saidhe said no tickets will be sold at the counter to prevent persontoperson contact tickets will be sold only in the online mode and 1000 visitors will be allowed per day he addedwearing of face maskscover use of sanitizers and maintaining of social distancing have been made compulsory for visitors as well as the zoo staffthe zoo was supposed to reopen on december 1 but the schedule to reopen it was delayed due to the prevailing pandemic situationwe had plans to reopen the zoo but due to the recurrence of covid19 we have kept it closed said divisional forest officer tejas mariswamyhe also said sanitization of the entire premises is underway from time to time and will be followed continuously the animals are safe and secure to date and we are trying to ensure safety even after the reopening of the zoo he addedtalking about the possibility of the visitors he said there might be less number of visitors due to the pandemic but still there is a chance of visitors as the zoo will be opened in the new year and people also want some relaxation after a prolonged covid19induced lockdown across the countrythe zoo is home to about 895 animals birds and reptiles representing almost 113 species of animals and birds from around the world