Sabarimala Temple reopens to devotees in Kerala; Vaccine certificate mandated

The Devaswam board on Thursday, 17 September, informed that the devotees have gathered at Dharmasastha Temple of Sabrimala to offer monthly prayers to Lord Ayyappa for the month of 'Kanni'. 

Until September 21, devotees will be permitted to do the monthly puja. The COVID vaccination certificate is mandated for all devotees visiting the temple. Also, inside the premises, all of the COVID guidelines were adhered to. On any given day, only 15,000 people are permitted to access the temple grounds.

Dharmasastha Temple of Sabrimala opened for devotees

Entry inside the Sabarimala temple is possible only through online registration. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also mandated  COVID-19 negative certificate for devotees within 48 hours of online registration.

The Sabarimala temple reopened for worshipers on October 16, 2020, around seven months after it remained closed owing to the pandemic. However, there are some restrictions. On Thursday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated that Kerala accounts for nearly 68% of all COVID-19 cases registered in India. There are around 1.99 lakh active cases in Kerala.

COVID-19 situation in Kerala

Kerala reported 22,182 new COVID-19 cases and 178 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 44,46,228 and fatalities to 23,165.  According to a state government release, 26,563 persons have recovered from the infection since Wednesday, bringing the overall number of recoveries to 42,36,309 and the number of active cases to 1,86,190. While the statement said that 1,21,486 samples were tested in the previous 24 hours, it did not indicate the Test Positivity Rate for the second day in a row. However, out of 1,21,486 samples tested within the same time period, 22,182 new positive cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, resulting in an 18.25% rate.

Thrissur had the greatest number of cases (3252) among the 14 districts, followed by Ernakulam (2,901), Thiruvananthapuram (2,135), Malappuram (2,061), Kozhikode (1,792), Palakkad (1,613), Kollam (1,520), Alappuzha (1,442), Kannur (1,246), Kottayam (1,212), Pathanamthitta (1, (973). The additional cases included 105 health workers, 89 people from outside the state, and 21,122 people who were infected through contact, with the source of contact in 866 cases unknown. There are presently 5,54,807 persons in various districts under surveillance, with 5,27,791 under home or institutional quarantine and 27,016 in hospitals.

(with inputs from ANI/PTI)

Image: PTI