Kerala Govt Reopens Sabarimala Temple For 5 Days From Today, Negative RT-PCR Report Mandatory For Devotees

A maximum of 5,000 devotees are allowed on a daily basis for these five days

Sabarimala Temple reopens today. (Image: ANI)

Sabarimala: Amid growing Covid cases and weekend lockdowns, the Kerala government decided to reopen the famous Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa for five days from Saturday to conduct the monthly rituals. Fresh guidelines People wishing to visit the Sabarimala temple will have to provide a complete Covid-19 vaccination certificate or a negative RT-PCR report issued within 48 hours.

The government has capped the devotees as a maximum of 5,000 devotees will be allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple through the online booking system on a daily basis.

Kerala | A maximum of 5,000 devotees will be allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple through the online booking system each day.

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2021

Amid growing caseload in the state of Kerala, the Pinarayi Vijayan government directed all the other major temples to be closed. On Friday, Kerala has registered 13,750 cases while 130 Covid patients succumbed to death. Three districts — Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Thrissur — are the most affected districts in Kerala. It's noteworthy that, the recoveries have been lesser than the people tested positive for the deadly virus on Friday. 10,697 persons recovered from the dreadful virus.

Albeit lifting the strict Covid restrictions in the state, the weekend curfew is in place in Kerala in an attempt to reduce the caseload. On Saturday Thiruvananthapuram was seen wearing a deserted look.

Kerala continues with weekend lockdown to curb the spread of COVID19 infection; visuals from Thiruvananthapuram pic.twitter.com/0jkoARA14w

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2021