The Guruvayur temple in Thrissur will be closed again for devotees, it was informed on Friday. The decision was taken by the temple committee in light of the spike in COVID-19 cases in Thrissur in recent days.
Confirming the decision taken by the temple committee, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that it is in light of the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, which has caused concern among the temple staff. “The governing committee took the decision and informed the government. And the government has accepted it,” Minister Kadakampally said.
The temple rituals would continue to proceed as they did during the lockdown imposed earlier to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Guruvayur, a temple where many weddings take place, will also cancel the weddings scheduled for days starting from Sunday. However, the weddings scheduled to take place on Saturday will happen.
“The concerned people have been informed of the decision that weddings cannot take place in the temple in these times. Temples can take these decisions that they think is best suited in the circumstances. The government accepts the decision as it is of the opinion that wherever possible, crowds should be avoided to help contain the spread of the disease,” Minister Kadakampally said.
On Friday, 14 more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Thrissur, taking the total number of active cases in the district to 150. There are 1,303 active cases in the state.
Chavakkad, a place near the Guruvayur temple, has been declared a containment zone. Four new containment zones have been added on Thursday. Twenty five people were reported to have contracted COVID-19 on Thursday, four of whom are sanitation workers of the Corporation and four others are headload workers. Collector Shanavas informed that the restrictions of Section 144 of CrPC will be applicable to the containment zones. So people cannot assemble in groups of four or more or get out of their house unless it is for procuring essential services.
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